The Hindu : Karnataka News : Telgi's main printing presses were in Mumbai

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 02, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Telgi's main printing presses were in Mumbai

By B.S. Ramesh

BANGALORE, MAY 1. Even as fake stamp papers worth hundreds of crores of rupees were being circulated all over the country for several years, the Stamp Paper Investigation Team (STAMPIT), which was set up in January 25, 2002 to investigate the racket, had conclusive proof that Mumbai was one of the main printing centres of fake stamp papers. Sources told The Hindu that STAMPIT had managed to establish that Abdul Ladsab Telgi, alias Kareem Lala, the prime accused in the multi-crore fake stamp paper racket, had set up two printing presses in Mumbai and distribution firms all over the country.

Mumbai was also an important distribution centre for Telgi. It had all along provided a safe haven to him from 1991 itself. Telgi's name entered the police records soon after he returned from Saudi Arabia. Though a native of Khanapur in Belgaum district, Telgi became so familiar with Mumbai that he operated from areas such as Colaba, Andheri, Bhiwandi, Fort and Oshiwara in Mumbai, Thane and Pune. After Telgi managed to obtain information on the process and manufacture of stamps from the India Security Press (ISP) in Nashik, he set up the "Mudran Offset Printers" in Mumbai. Besides, another firm called "Mudra Scan" in the Fort area of Mumbai was established to procure printing machinery, equipment and accessories to print and perforate fake stamps in large numbers.

With Mumbai as the printing "nerve centre", Telgi set up "distribution" centres in major cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Pune. Investigators believe that Telgi chose Mumbai as the printing centre as it was near to Nashik where the India Security Press (ISP) is located. The ISP has been identified as the source of perforating machines used in printing of fake stamp papers. Besides, some official suppliers of raw material to the ISP had supplied materials of similar specifications to Telgi.

The other major suppliers of sophisticated machinery had been identified as Grafica Flextronica of Mumbai and Kohli Printers of Delhi. In Mumbai, Telgi had floated a fictitious firm, "M.D. Madhav," to push fake stamps. In Karnataka, Bangalore was the centre of activities of the Telgi gang which operated in Mysore, Shimoga, Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum. When a case was registered against Telgi in R.T. Nagar Police Station in Bangalore, the gang shifted its activities to Hyderabad. Telgi had operated in Delhi by having his associate, Sohail Khan, open a fictitious firm called "Capital Services." Housed in Connaught Place, the firm played a leading role in pushing fake stamps worth crores of rupees.

The gang set up firms called Sharp Enterprises and Citi Enterprises to push fake stamps in Noida, Uttar Pradesh and Sneha Enterprises to market them in Lucknow. Delhi was so important to Telgi that he frequently travelled to the city by air. He also procured machinery such as Dominant 725 offset printer, Dot Ma image setters and other such equipment. Telgi's associates were also suspected of having set up printing presses in West Bengal along the Line of Control with Bangladesh. However, these presses could not be traced and investigators believe that they were closed after the police cracked down on the racket in several States.

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