Krishna threatens to sue retired Karnataka cops for defamation in Telgi case

Maharashtra Governor and former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna has decided to initiate criminal defamation proceedings against retired police officers H T Sangliana and Sangram Singh for linking him with the alleged mastermind in the multi-billion rupee fake stamp paper racket Abdul Karim Telgi.

Krishna’s legal notices to Sangliana, who is now a BJP MP, and Sangram Singh came within hours after the duo convened a press conference in Bangalore on Saturday and claimed that Telgi’s ill-gotten cash had been used by the former Karnataka Chief Minister to raise the ransom money for the release of abducted Kannada actor Rajkumar’s from jungle outlaw Veerappan’s captivity during 2000.

Sangram Singh, who was also arrested in the Telgi case, but is now out on bail, said he saw the alleged kingpin of the fake stamp paper scam for the first time in the company of Krishna and then Home Minister M Mallikarjun Kharge. “I don’t know whether politicians sheltered Telgi till his arrest”, Sangram Singh told reporters.

Sangliana, during whose tenure as Commissioner of Bangalore City Police Telgi was arrested, said arresting Sangram Singh in the stamp paper scam is like catching a “small fly”. “Politicians and police officers, who fleeced Telgi, are roaming without fear. Telgi himself has revealed a few names and was in the process of preparing a confessional statement. We hope he will make the statement soon”, Sangliana said.

Responding to the serious allegations against him, Krishna, who now the Governor of Maharashtra, issued a press statement from Raj Bhavan in Mumbai dismissing all the charges levelled against him by the retired cops. Criminal defamation proceedings will be initiated against them for “maligning my public image”, Krishna said in the press statement.

Pointing out that Sangram Singh was himself accused in the stamp paper scam, Krishna said it was ridiculous that Sangliana, a retired IPS officer, was associating himself with an accused in case, which is being probed by the CBI.

Further, Krishna claimed that it was during his tenure as Chief Minister of Karnataka that Telgi was arrested and several cases relating to the stamp paper scam were registered against him. The former Chief Minister also claimed credit for setting up StampIT, an investigating agency meant exclusively to probe the stamp paper scam.

Meanwhile, advocates from Ashok Harnahalli Associates, representing Krishna, had issued legal notices Sangliana and Sangram Singh, charging them with defaming his client and causing “irreparable damage to his reputation”.