Stamp paper kingpin Telgi dead

Abdul Karim Telgi (58), kingpin of the multi-crore stamp paper scam, died at Victoria Hospital on Thursday, a week after he was admitted there.

He was taken to the Trauma Care Centre after he suffered multi-organ failure. Dr Balaji S Pai, special officer, Trauma Care Centre, said, "He was on ventilator and life support. His condition had shown no improvement."

Telgi suffered a cardiac arrest. He was declared dead at 3.55 pm, Dr Pai said. Convicted in 2006 along with many of his associates for printing fake stamp papers, Telgi has been in jail for 16 years. The scandal had rocked the state in early 2000.

Telgi had diabetes, hypothyroidism and hypertension, besides a host of other ailments.
He had not been able to stand for four years. Prison authorities at Parappana Agrahara had allowed him to use a wheelchair.

Postmortem today

Since Telgi died in judicial custody, the postmortem will be conducted in the presence of a magistrate. Police have informed the magistrate concerned, and the postmortem will be conducted on Friday morning, a policeman said.

Will his secret papers emerge?

Telgi knew he was going to die anytime, and had written down his story, his advocate Shankarappa told DH.

"When I met him at his daughter's wedding, he told me he had written 1,600 pages about the scam, with details of all those involved. He said he had named people who had tortured him in jail and threatened him not to reveal their names," Shankarappa told DH.

Several politicians were involved in the scam, spanning several states. Some senior policemen were arrested. T G Sangram Singh, who was jailed, is on record as saying high-profile politicians made him a scapegoat to protect the brother of a minister.

Telgi's autobiographical account, if it ever sees the light of day, could reveal sensational details about the scandal.

In his last days, he was keen to stay back in Parappana Agrahara central prison, and feared police from some other state would take him away if he was released. He did not want to die in a strange place, Shankarappa said.