All About Abdul Karim Telgi, Whose Story Hansal Mehta Will Explore In Web-Series 'Scam 2003'

After the grand succes of Hansal Mehta's Scam 1992 that made Pratik Gandhi an overnight star, the makers have announced a sequel to the show, Scam 2003: The Curious Case Of Abdul Karim Telgi, an adaptation of journalist Sanjay Singh¡¯s Hindi book Reporter ki Diary.

Here's all you need to know about the man who started as a vegetable vendor and reportedly gave rise to a scam of about Rs 20,000 crore.

Grateful for the very loving response to this announcement. This is a challenging tale to tell. And even more so because it is Season 2 of such a successful show. We will work doubly hard to reciprocate this love and to make this season very exciting, authentic and engaging. ?? pic.twitter.com/gJekVVkRWp

¡ª Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) March 4, 2021

What was the scam all about?

Abdul Karim Telgi made headlines in 2000s when a paper scam reportedly amounting to Rs 20,000 crore was exposed. About 350 people working under him came under the scanner for selling fake stamp papers to banks, insurance companies and stock broking firms. It is said that some high level police officers and government employees were also involved in the syndicate.

Abdul Karim Telgi: A vegetable vendor who faced harships early on in life.

Abdul Karim Telgi was about seven-eight years old when his father, an Indian Railways employee passed away. He worked hard along with his brother and sold fruits and vegetables on trains to earn for his family. He paid for his own education at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya Khanapur.

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Counterfeiting career

After graduating in commerce, he struggling for a while in Mumbai and changed many jobs. He then moved to Saudi Arabia in hope of earning more money. He changed a few jobs there and when things were seemingly not working in his favour, he returned back to Mumbai. This is when his journey to counterfeiting began.

Fake passports and jail

Telgi was more interested in making quick money. When he got to know about travel agents who would make fake passports and earn a lot of money, he started his own travel company called Arabian Metro Travel. He would create fake documents for people to facilitate the smooth passage to Saudi Arabia. He was cought red-handed by the immigration officials and was sentenced to jail term. This is where criminal mind gained momentum.

BCCL

He came out of jail with a plan.

In 1994, he acquired stamp paper license. He moved to more complex counterfeiting by printing fake stam papers worth crores of rupees sold between 1995 to 2003. He wasn't doing it all alone. Many high profile government officials and politicians were involved too.

He was caught in 2000.

After Bengaluru Police received a tip about fake stamp papers, gradually Telgi's scam came to light. Telgi went missing meanwhile but was soon caught by the Police.

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The Narco test created ripples in Maharashtra government

In a narco test, he revealed that NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, who was a Union minister at that time, and former state Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal had received money from him.

But in his statement, there was no mention of Pawar or Bhujbal.

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High profile scandal

When CBI took over the case fom the state's special investigation team, it was once again brought to fore that his confession included names like BJP MLA Anil Gote and former Mumbai Police Commissioner R S Sharma. In the SIT reports submitted after narco test and brain mapping of Telgi, it was revealed he allegedly paid Rs 22 lakh to Sharma and also named several high profile people in the scandal.

In 2006, TV channels aired his 2003 narco-analysis test. Following which, Gote demanded a narco test of Pawar and Bhujbal, based on Telgi's claims.

"I was arrested because Telgi had been a guest at my function. Therefore, one wonders what stopped the SIT to take action against Pawar, who had been to a function organised by Telgi at Khanapur in 1994," Gote had said.

Pawar, on the other hand, claimed that he never met Telgi.

TOI

The downfall of Telgi

In 2007, Telgi was convicted in the scam and awarded 30 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs about Rs 1,000 crores. He later died at Bangalore¡¯s Victoria Hospital of multi-organ failure at the age of 56.