Who is Abdul Karim Telgi? The Man Who Scammed India in 2003, Hansal Mehta’s Series Premiered on September 1
Abdul Karim Telgi was a convicted Indian counterfeiter. He earned money by printing counterfeit stamp paper in India.
Image Source: Filmfare.com
“Scam 2003 – The Telgi Story” was released on September 1, with Hansal Mehta, the creator of the blockbuster web series “Scam 1992,” serving as the creative director of this second installment in the Scam franchise. Adapted from Sanjay Singh’s book “Telgi Scam: Reporter’s ki Diary,” the web series is available for streaming on SonyLIV. Let’s delve into the life of Abdul Karim Telgi, the central figure on which the story is based.
The name Telgi resonates with infamy in India, as Abdul Karim Telgi was the mastermind behind one of the nation’s most notorious counterfeiting scandals. Born in 1961, Telgi’s life was a complex blend of ambition, ingenuity, and criminality, ultimately leading to the establishment of a counterfeit empire that sent shockwaves through the country’s financial institutions.
Telgi’s early years were marked by hardship. His father, an employee of Indian Railways, passed away when Telgi was still a child. To fund his education, he resorted to selling fruits and vegetables on trains. Subsequently, Telgi ventured to Saudi Arabia, only to return seven years later with a new criminal career in mind – counterfeiting.
Initially, Telgi’s focus was on forging passports. He even founded a business, Arabian Metro Travels, which facilitated the export of manpower to Saudi Arabia. His company produced counterfeit documents that enabled laborers to evade immigration checks, a practice commonly referred to as “pushing” within the industry.
However, Telgi soon transitioned to a more lucrative enterprise – counterfeit stamp paper. He recruited an army of 300 agents to peddle these forged documents to major institutions, including banks, insurance companies, and stock brokerage firms. The magnitude of this operation was staggering, with an estimated value of ₹30,000 crore.
The scandal was so far-reaching that it ensnared several police officers and government officials. In 2006, Telgi was ultimately sentenced to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment, and in 2007, he received an additional 13-year sentence. He was also ordered to pay a fine of ₹202 crore.
Telgi’s life met an abrupt end in 2017 due to meningitis, compounded by longstanding health issues such as diabetes and hypertension. In the end, Abdul Karim Telgi emerged as a complex figure – a man who emerged from humble beginnings to construct an empire, albeit one founded on morally dubious grounds. The second volume of this series is scheduled for release in November 2023.
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