Telgi case: Missing prime witness found murdered

The multi-crore fake stamps scam of Abdul Rahim Telgi took an ugly twist recently when investigators learnt that an important witness was fo...

The multi-crore fake stamps scam of Abdul Rahim Telgi took an ugly twist recently when investigators learnt that an important witness was found murdered in mysterious circumstances.

Though Amir Mohammed Khan Choudhry (32) alias Raju’s, decomposed body was found on June 6 this year from the Killa Gautan creek at CBD Belapur,Navi Mumbai, the police only recently identified him as Amir.

Amir’s murder assumes significance as two more witnesses (Anand and Poojari) in the 837 crore fake stamps seizure case have been reported missing for some time. Also, Amir’s body was found a week after Assistant Inspector Dilip Kamath was arrested by the Special Investigation Team.

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According to Inspector B.D. Jadhav of Shivaji Nagar police station, Amir had been missing since June 5. That day, he had told his wife Ruksana that Banoo he was going for an important assignment and would be back by evening. When he did not return for several days, Banoo registered a complaint with Shivaji Nagar police station on June 16.

Amir’s uncle, Moin Khan who lives in Delhi, said that the police found Amir’s body only on September 26. And as Banoo was four months pregnant, she had to leave for her native place Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The police informed the family that they cremated the body as it was rotting in the morgue.

Senior Inspector Suresh Ghadge of the CBD Belapur police station said: ‘‘The postmortem stated that Amir had consumed alcohol and had internal head injuries —as if he was hit by some heavy object. It was on the basis of this that we registered a case of murder.’’

Amir’s sister Mehroonisa, who stays in Shivaji Nagar, said that Assistant Inspector Dilip Kamath was friendly with Amir and he had even gifted him a mobile phone. On January 9, the SIT had found Kamath and his three police constables allegedly partying with Telgi in his flat in Cuffe Parade. Later, the police Commissioner had suspended all four of them.

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Later, the Special Investigation Team also arrested Senior Inspector Dattatray Dhal for his alleged involvement with Telgi.

HC questions Police Commissioner’s role

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has sought an answer on the alleged involvement of Mumbai Police Commissioner R.S. Sharma in the multi-crore Telgi fake stamps scam.

A division bench of the court has asked DGP S.S. Puri, heading the inquiry, to probe the allegations against Sharma in an affidavit filed by S.M. Mushrif, now Inspector General of Police at Pune. The bench said that as Sharma retires on November 30, investigation must be ‘‘hurried up’’ and the report submitted by November 12. The court also directed the Karnataka government to produce certified copies of transcripts of the conversation recorded on tape between counterfeiter Abdul Karim Telgi and the police officers. (ENS)

‘Given stale food, locked up’: Truck cleaner on ‘abduction’ horror at Khedkar residence

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A truck cleaner in Navi Mumbai was rescued by the police after being abducted by the father of a sacked IAS officer. The victim was held captive, given stale food, and threatened with murder. The accused demanded compensation for their damaged car and threatened to kill the victim if not paid. The accused have been charged with extortion and destruction of evidence.

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