Scam 2003 | 30,000 crore scam by the fruit seller at the railway station, who was Abdul Karim Telgi?

The Hindi web series ‘Scam 1992’, released in October 2020, caught everyone’s attention in the country. The web series was based on the scam of crores of rupees in the stock market. Meanwhile, a new web series titled ‘Scam 2003’ is about to release on the stamp paper scam, which was even bigger than the 1992 scam and shook the whole of India. This web series is based on the ‘Telgi Stamp Paper’ scam that came to light in 2003. What is the Telgi stamp paper scam being shown in this background? Who was actually Abdul Karim Telgi, the main accused in this scam? How did he amass billions? let’s find out…

The teaser of Scam 2003: The Telly Story by Hansal Mehta, who has made films like Shahid, Aligarh and Scam 1992, is out. The web series Scam 1992 became very popular. This web series was based on the life of Harshad Mehta, who scammed crores in the stock market. Scam 1992 brought Prateek Gandhi into limelight overnight. Now Hansal Mehta has brought to the fore the story of one such scam in 2003, Abdul Telgi. Journalist Sanjay Singh’s book ‘Reporter’s Diary’ first exposed the Telgi scam. The book Scam 2003 is the basis of this web series.

Early life of Abdul Karim Telgi

Abdul was born in a lower-middle-class family in Khanapur, Karnataka. His father worked as a porter at Khanapur railway station. Abdul lost his father at an early age and decided to take care of his family. At first, Abdul earned his living as a fruit seller at the railway station. As reported by The Quint, Abdul managed to complete his basic education and went to Saudi Arabia, but he soon returned and shifted to Bombay.

Abdul’s life in Bombay

When Abdul reached Bombay, there were days when he had no place to stay, no food to eat. However Abdul met a travel agent and worked for him. He later started a travel agency and sold fake immigration clearance documents to laborers looking for work in the Gulf countries.

Abdul’s life changed after the prison experience

In 1991, Abdul was arrested on charges of cheating and forgery and was sentenced to a short jail term, reports The Quint. In jail, Abdul met Ram Ratan Soni, a stamp seller who was serving a sentence for allegedly forging share papers. Soni got Abdul interested in the stock market and after serving his sentence, Abdul got caught in a big scam.

telgi scam

With Soni’s help, Abdul started making stamp paper. According to media reports, the demand for legal documents was always high and the supply short. Thus, Telgi bought defunct printing machines from the Nashik Security Press to print stamp paper. As reported, for the next 6-7 years he kept on procuring machines for printing counterfeit stamp papers. Their buyers will include the general public, banks, brokerages and insurance companies.

The Downfall of Abdul Karim Telgi

Abdul was arrested in 2001, and in 2007 he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. By 2002, Abdul was found to be HIV positive, while several cases were being investigated. In 2013, Abdul was convicted for selling fake stamp paper worth Rs 17 lakh.

Abdul Karim Telgi passes away

Abdul died in 2017 due to multi organ failure. According to reports, a year after his death, Abdul was acquitted by the Nashik Sessions Court for lack of evidence. The Hansal Mehta Scam 2003 will bring Abdul Karim Telgi’s life to the fore. The series will stream on Sony Liv from 2 September.

What was the stamp paper scam?

In 1994, while working with Sony, Abdul Karim Telgi became a legitimate stamp seller using Sony’s contacts. Both Abdul Karim Telgi and Soni together started growing their business by making many fake stamp papers. Abdul Karim Telgi started mixing genuine stamp papers with fake ones. There was huge profit on this. Earned a lot of money from fake stamp business and started many side businesses of his own.

Abdul Karim Telgi and Soni separated in 1995. Meanwhile, Abdul Karim Telgi once again got into trouble. Mumbai Police has registered a case against Abdul Karim Telgi for selling fake stamps. His license was revoked, but Abdul Karim Telgi was so good at his job that he knew how to get out of it. He started his own press company.

In 1996, Abdul Karim Telgi hired his contacts and started his own press company on Mint Road. He bought several machines using contacts. All these machines were of old age. Gradually his business started spreading to other cities as well. Many people started buying fake stamp papers. In many places, this stamp paper was also used to get the property registered wrongly. Fake insurance documents were prepared. In the 90s, Abdul Karim Telgi’s business became worth crores.