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Journalism of Courage
Fifteen years after a lookout notice was issued against an accused in the stamp paper scam,the CBI last week arrested Iman Choudhary,an alleged prime aide of kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi,from Mumbai. Choudhary,who had been on the run ever since 1995,was believed to have fled to the US in 2002.
Of the many cases against Telgi,the special CBI court is scheduled to announce the verdict next week against him and eight others in a stamp scam worth approximately Rs 60 lakh. Choudhary was shown as an absconding accused in the case. Choudhary was a close aide of Telgi. He was arrested at the Sahar airport last week. As the trial against the remaining eight is in the last leg,he will be tried separately, said special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat.
The case dates back to 1995,when Telgi and his associates were accused of selling bogus stamp papers to four companies Ashok Leyland,State Bank of India,Bank of Baroda and Bank of India.
They would approach the companies,take their valuable documents under the pretext that they would get it printed on stamp papers and hand them back in fake stamp papers. All these activities were carried out at the Metro guesthouse owned by Telgi, said Gharat.
The case is primarily based on the confession of Telgi,who admitted to having carried out the offence along with his associates Shabbir Shaikh,Mohammad Yasin,Sanjay Gaikwad,Malleshwar Dhulanwar,Riyaz Mokashi,Ramratan Soni,Telgis driver Daniel Kanikraj and one suspended police officer Ganpat Vaman Jadhav. Telgis confession also reveals a specific role played by Choudhary. The confession will be used strongly against him, Gharat said.
Only Telgi and now Choudhary are under arrest. All the other accused,after spending a few months in jail,secured bail. Like in other cases,after spending nearly 10 years in jail,Telgi pleaded guilty in this case too. He is trying hard to get a concurrent sentence and wants his time in jail to be set off. We will oppose this, Gharat added.
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