As Hansal Mehta announced a new series, titled Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, people are finding more about Abdul Karim Telgi and the scam he had done along with his death reason, wife and property
Hansal Mehta announced a new series last year after the huge success of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story.
The programme, titled Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, is about Abdul Karim Telgi, a fruit vendor who established an empire by producing counterfeit stamp sheets. Gagan Dev Riar, a prominent theatrical actor, was announced as the show’s face on Tuesday.
Abdul Karim Telgi Scam Story, Death Reason, Age, Biography, Family, Wife, Lawyer, Property, Net Worth And Scam 2003 Web Series
The streaming platform SonyLIV’s social media page shared a teaser video, saying,
Starring Gagan Dev Riar as Telgi, Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with StudioNext, Scam 2003: The Telgi Story will be helmed by show runner Hansal Mehta and director Tushar Hiranandani. Casting by Mukesh Chhabra.
As soon as the announcement was made, it went viral as people are expecting something amazing and intriguing stuff again. Lots of people are talking about it while many tried to find out who Abdul Karim Telgi is and the scam he has done. So, let’s find out more about him:
Who was Abdul Karim Telgi?
Abdul Karim Telgi was a convicted counterfeiter from India. He was famous for making money by producing counterfeit stamp papers.
He was born in Khanapur, Belgaum, Karnataka, India, on July 29, 1961. His mother was Shariefabee Ladsaab Telgi, and his father was an Indian Railways employee who died while Abdul was a child. He and his two brothers sold vegetables and fruits at the Khanpur Railway Station.
Telgi apparently paid for his own schooling at the English-medium Sarvodaya Vidyalaya Khanapur by selling fruits and vegetables on trains. He eventually made his way to Saudi Arabia. He returned to India seven years later and began a career in counterfeiting, first focused on fake passports.
He was supposed to be in love with Tarannumn Khan, a bar dancer due to her looking like Madhuri Dixit with spending Rs.93 lakhs on her in one night. He went onto marry Shahida with whom he had a child as well.
His Career
After returning from Saudi Arabia, he created a company called Arabian Metro Travels at New Marine Lines to export labour to Saudi Arabia.
He used to make a variety of bogus documents to help labourers go through airports more quickly, even if their passports had an ECR (emigration check required) stamp or other difficulties that would raise problems in front of immigration officers. In the language of manpower exporters, this activity was known as “pushing.”
Later, when he started counterfeiting stamp paper, he went on to more intricate counterfeiting. He became extremely wealthy as a result of this. He used to frequent dance clubs and once spent Rs 90 lakh on a single bar dancer in a single night.
Scam Of Abdul Karim Telgi
As he progressed to more complicated counterfeiting, he appointed 300 agents to sell counterfeits to significant customers like banks, insurance institutions, and stock brokerage firms. The swindle was valued at about $100 billion (US$1.3 billion).
The participation of multiple police officers and other government officials, notably Nikhil Khotari, was one element of the scandal that caused significant worry. An Assistant Police Investigator was determined to have a net worth of over ₹ 1 billion (US$13 million) while only receiving ₹ 9,000 (US$120) per month.
A number of cops have been cited as suspects in the case. Pradip Sawant, the Special Branch’s then-Deputy Commissioner of Police in Mumbai, was sacked but then restored after being found not guilty.
Then police officer S M Mushrif, widely known for his book “Who Killed Karkare,” took immediate action in this matter.
On January 17, 2006, Telgi and many companions were sentenced to 30 years in jail. On June 28, 2007, Telgi was sentenced to 13 years in jail for another component of the case. He was also fined ₹ 10 billion (US$130 million). In order to pay the penalties, the Income Tax Department took Telgi’s property.
Death Cause Of Abdul Karim Telgi
Telgi passed away in Bengaluru’s Victoria Hospital on October 23, 2017, following multiple organ failures caused by long time diabetes, high blood pressure and hypertension. At the time of his death, he was just 56 years old. He was HIV positive too.
In 2018, the Nashik sessions court in Maharashtra dismissed the case against late Abdul Karim Telgi and seven others in the absence of “solid evidence” against them, years after his death.
He had 36 properties across the country and had more than 120 bank accounts in 18 major cities in India. His case was fought by lawyer MT Nanih while SAMPIT Chief and ADGP R Sreekumar lead the case from the official side. The total figure of the scam is said to stand at Rs.20,000 crore.