A fruit seller-turned-travel agent-turned-India’s one of biggest money kingpins – Abdul Karim Telgi. Abdul’s story will be disclosed soon, but before that, let’s know him a little more closely.
Director Hansal Mehta has brought the second chapter in his Scam series- Scam 2003: The Telgi Story. The upcoming series is the follow-up of his 2020 popular show, Scam 1992, and it narrates another story of a kingpin who minted crores and went on to become a bigger kingpin than Harshad Mehta. But who was Abdul Karim Telgi aka the mastermind of the Telgi scam? Let’s find out
Abdul Karim Telgi’s early life
Abdul was born in a lower-middle-class family, in Khanapur, Karnataka. His father used to work as a porter at Khanapur Railway Station. Abdul lost his father at an early age, and he decided to take care of his family. At first, Abdul earned his living as a fruit seller at the railway station. As Quint reported, Abdul managed to clear his basic education and went to Saudi Arabia, but he returned soon and shifted to Bombay.
Abdul’s life in Bombay
When Abdul reached Bombay, there were days, when he had no place to live, no food to eat. However, Abdul met a travel agent, and he worked for him. Later they started a travel agency, and he sold fake immigration clearance documents to labourers looking for work in Gulf countries.
Abdul’s life changed after his jail experience
As Quint reported, in 1991, Abdul was arrested for cheating and forgery and he was sentenced to a short jail term. In jail, Abdul met Ram Ratan Soni, a stamp vendor who was serving a sentence for alleged forging share papers. Soni got Abdul interested in the share market, and serving his sentence, Abdul got involved in a bigger scam.
The Telgi Scam
With the help of Soni, Abdul started forging stamp papers As per media reports the legal document was always high on demand and less on supply. Thus, Telgi bought decommissioned printing machines from Nashik Security Press to print stamp papers. As reported, over the next 6-7 years, he kept buying machines to print fake stamp papers. His buyers would include common people, banks, brokerage, and insurance companies.
The downfall of Abdul Karim Telgi
Abdul was arrested in 2001, and he was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment in 2007. By 2002, Abdul tested HIV positive while several cases were getting investigated. In 2013, Abdul was convicted, for selling fake stamp papers worth Rs 17 lakhs.
The demise of Abdul Karim Telgi
In 2017, Abdul died due to multi-organ failure. As per reports, Abdul was acquitted by the Nashik sessions court, a year after his demise, due to lack of evidence. Hansal Mehta will bring the life of Abdul Karim Telgi in Scam 2003. The series will stream on Sony Liv from September 2.
