Telgi, four others convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison

In the first-ever conviction in the multi-billion-rupee fake stamp paper cases tried in Karnataka, kingpin of the scam Abdul Karim Telgi and four of his associates were found guilty of cheating the Government to the tune of Rs 4.27 million and sentenced to ten years in prison.

The special court judge Vishwanath V Angadi, who had found Telgi and four others guilty of forgery and cheating on Friday, sentenced them to ten years in prison and slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 each yesterday.

The sentence handed out by the judge of the special court at Parappana Agrahara in Bangalore pertains to the first case against Telgi in Karnataka. Out of the 28 cases being investigated by the CBI against Telgi throughout the country, the special court set up at Parappana Agrahara in Bangalore is hearing ten of them.

Telgi and his four associates – Badruddin, Irfan Ahmed, Wazir Ahmed and Pradeep Kumar – had been convicted and sentenced for selling fake stamp papers to Sami Laboratories in Peenya in Bangalore during May 1999 to register the company’s property worth Rs 38 million.

Telgi and four others, who were all partners in Cauvery Enterprises, had forged documents and embossed them with fake seals of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The case, which was first investigated by the Peenya police in Bangalore was later transferred to the CBI in 2004 as per the Supreme Court’s orders.

The CBI examined 35 witnesses and produced 138 documents including the messages exchanged on the pager and transcripts of telephone calls made to Telgi. Pronouncing the judgement, Vishwanath Angadi said charges framed against the accused had been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Telgi, who is now lodged in Yerawada jail in Pune, heard the judge read out the conviction through videoconference. When the judge asked Telgi whether he understood the conviction, the latter replied in the positive.

Telgi was represented by his counsel M T Nanaiah, who sought a reduction in the sentence on account of his failing health. But, the efforts went in vain. Telgi’s lawyers are understood to be in favour of going in appeal against the special court’s orders.

The other fake stamp paper cases awaiting judgement in Karnataka include the ones registered by Madiwala police, Upparpet police, R T Nagar police and City Market police, all in Bangalore. The Vidyanagar case, which was registered by Hubli police, has been transferred and is now part of the Bund Garden case at Pune.