Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

Stamp paper racket: Disclosures expose Govt.

The arrests and seizures of fake stamp papers by the Pune police, and their revelations make one wonder whether there is a concerted effort to shield the accused, writes Govind D. Belgaumkar

THE RECENT detection of a stamp paper racket by the Pune police, allegedly masterminded by Kareem Lala alias Abdul Kareem Telagi, who has been arrested by the City police, has rekindled interest in the multi-crore scandal and raised a few questions.

Kareem Lala, the kingpin of the racket, who was arrested in November last year, is in judicial custody for the past few months. At that time, the Opposition parties in the State raised a hue and cry over the alleged links of the brother of the Minister of Tourism, R. Roshan Baig, with Kareem Lala.

While the Bangalore City Police Commissioner, H.T. Sangliana, suggested that a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case be ordered, the Government saw no reason to do so. It even rebuked Mr. Sangliana for making the suggestion publicly.

Now, the Pune police have revealed that groups masterminded by Kareem Lala were involved in nefarious activities in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. They have said that the racket has left the State Exchequer poorer by about Rs. 2,200 crore.

The Pune police have also revealed that the racketeers, who operated for over 10 years, floated several companies, funded Hindi films, and purchased 35 items of property in Karnataka and Maharashtra.

These revelations have exposed the quality of the investigations conducted by the Karnataka police, and the attitude of the State Government, which refused to hand over the case to the CBI.

The Government formed a special team — Stamp Investigating Team (STAMPIT) — under the leadership of Sri Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka Police Housing Corporation, citing his past experience in the country's top investigating agency.

Although STAMPIT filed chargesheets against the prime accused in February, not much progress has been made in the investigation of the ramifications of the racket outside the State. After arresting Kareem Lala, the Bangalore City police hinted at activities of the racketeers in different States. The arrests and seizures of fake stamp papers by the Pune police,

and the revelations made by them make one wonder whether there is a concerted effort to shield the accused. Are there any unseen hands at work?

Meanwhile, it appears that Opposition parties, led by the BJP, which staged dharnas in the Legislature and outside for several days demanding a CBI probe and the resignation of the minister, have conveniently forgotten the issue.

An embarrassed Government assured that it will review registrations of transactions made in the past few years to find out use of fake stamp papers. But the review does not seem to have made much headway.

The STAMPIT chief has said that efforts will be made to secure police custody of Kareem Lala and that the investigations will be carried out in close coordination with the Pune police. Whether STAMPIT will get political support to carry forward its investigation or not remains to be seen.

With fresh details of wider ramifications coming to the fore, it may be appropriate to hand over the investigation to a Central agency. Will the Karnataka Government take the initiative?

On its part, the STAMPIT, which arrested 48 persons, has listed 10 persons as "wanted" on its website — www.stampit.info. It has hardly got any positive response to its appeals to the people to come forward with information about the racket. In this background, a suggestion being made by the Pune police may have to be considered by the Karnataka Government. They have urged the Maharashtra Government to announce an "amnesty'' for stamp vendors who give vital information on fake stamp papers sold by them.

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