Guj fake stamp papers case: Telgi gets seven-year imprisonment

Fake stamp paper scam kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi was on Thursday sentenced to seven years imprisonment by a special CBI court here.

Judicial magistrate AP Gohil, who presided over the special court, also sent Telgi's aide Sadik Ibrahim to seven years in jail. His another aide Siddarth alias Peter Fernendes was awarded five years' imprisonment.
    
While Telgi and Sadik have been fined Rs 35,000, Siddarth has been fined Rs 30,000 by the court.
    
All the three had yesterday pleaded guilty before the special court in a fake stamp papers case filed in Gujarat.
    
The multi-crore fake stamp paper scam was first unearthed in Maharashtra.
    
Telgi and his Gujarat based aides were also running the racket in the state.

Telgi had urged the court to grant him minimum sentence considering his health.
    
The judge observed that the offence committed by all the three was against the nation as well as the society and deserves maximum punishment.
    
"They are not entitled for any kind of mercy and that is the reason they have been sentenced to maximum punishment under the law for the offence committed by them," the court further observed.
    
CBI had carried out raids at several places across Gujarat in which fake stamp papers worth more than Rs 25 crore were recovered after the scam was unearthed in Pune in 2002.
    
About 20 people who were found to be involved in the scam, were arrested by the investigating agency while a few are still absconding.

Later all the accused including mastermind Telgi were chargesheeted by the agency and the case was put for trial in the special court.

Also, four out of the 20 accused, who had pleaded guilty before the court in last August were sentenced subsequently.