In the first volume of Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, we saw that Abdul Karim Telgi had blown his cover after he spent about 90 lakhs in cash at a dance bar. He had to pay a huge price for his arrogance, and from there on, everything went downhill. The news of a man spending such a huge amount of money came into the media, and not only did the law enforcement authorities realize that they would have to do something about him, but it also wreaked havoc on his personal life. Nafisa stopped talking to him after she got to know what he had done and later left the house with her daughter. Even at this moment, if Abdul had stopped, life wouldn’t have ended in such a tragic manner for him. But his greed knew no boundaries, and he stayed under the illusion that he would be able to come out of this mess and keep doing what he was doing. But Abdul was wrong this time, and he was stuck in a swamp where there was no way out. Let’s find out what happened with Abdul Karim Telgi and why he finally decided to take all the blame and confess to his crime.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Telgi go to jail in Karnataka?
Telgi had a good relationship with Sheikh; at least, that’s what he thought till the time he went to Karnataka to have a private meeting with him. A popular star named Jivram had been kidnapped by a dacoit named Nijilingam, and the fugitive was asking for a ransom of a whopping 15 crore. The Karnataka government knew that they would have to ask for favors from people like Telgi and get the actor released as soon as possible, as otherwise, the situation of law and order in the state would deteriorate even more. There were protests that were being held by the citizens, as they wanted the government to do something to get their favorite actor released. Telgi met Shiekh and told him that he would be ready to contribute, provided he made sure that his brother Abdul Azim Telgi was given a ministry to handle. Sheikh didn’t agree to these conditions, and Telgi said that in that case, he wouldn’t be able to contribute anything. But then an officer from Karnataka was asked to investigate Telgi’s operations, and that was when a truck full of fake stamp papers was caught in Maharashtra. Telgi realized that if he didn’t pay attention, then these politicians would keep bothering him like this. So he went to the PA of the Chief Minister and gave a huge sum of money that was used to save the actor, Jivram. The government had promised this time that they would look after Telgi’s brother, but the opposite happened. Even after paying such a huge sum of money, Telgi was made a scapegoat and sent to prison in Karnataka.
How did Telgi get transferred to Pune Jail?
Telgi knew how to work his way around, and he considered himself to be a strategist of the highest order. He sent a huge sum of money to a young leader of the ruling party in Karnataka, and that’s when the government decided to allow him to be transferred to Yervada jail in Pune, as that was what he wanted. Telgi knew that he had a lot of contacts in Maharashtra, and he would find a way to get out of prison. But once again, Telgi found himself in a mess as DCP Malti Halani made his life a living hell. He was tortured in prison as police officers entered his cell and brutally assaulted him almost every day. Telgi was sick and tired, and he couldn’t understand how, after feeding so much money to all the hungry mouths, he had landed in such a position. He decided that if nobody was going to help his cause, he would find a way for himself, as he always had. He asked his contacts in Bombay to include his name in the Suleiman murder case and tell the court that they had found evidence that made him the prime accused. It was a masterstroke played by Abdul, as he knew that for the hearing, he would be transferred to Mumbai, and Halani wouldn’t be able to stop it. Abdul reached Mumbai, and in court, he said that he had been framed and that he was not involved in the murder. Soon, Abdul came out of the prison, and this time, he felt that he was the king of the jungle. With politicians Jadhav, Deosahab and Dhummal, and police officials like Madhukar Dombe already in his pockets, he felt invincible, and he was convinced that nothing could stop him.
How did Jaisingh and Suryakant put Telgi behind bars?
Suryakant Gehlot was leading the Karnataka STI, and after Abdul got transferred to Mumbai, a special unit was also created there, and Pramod Jaisingh was asked to head it and find evidence against Telgi. In the preliminary stages itself, Jaisingh realized Abdul Karim Telgi was no common man, as nobody was ready to speak a word against him. Wherever Jaisingh went, he found a roadblock, and finally, he came to the conclusion that if he had to find something concrete about the infamous man, then he would have to coordinate with Surykant and take his help. Suryakant gave him his file, and they started working together to get evidence against whoever was involved. It was around this time in Scam 2003: The Telgi Story Volume 2 that our protagonist got to know that he was HIV positive, and it felt like his entire life turned upside down. He had never imagined that his life could be so unpredictable, but now he had no option but to deal with it. Jaisingh and Suryakant realized one thing: as long as Abdul was in Mumbai, he was untouchable, and they had to figure out a way to take him out of the state and bring him back to Karnataka.
CP Suri and others had told the media that Abdul was being kept in prison, whereas, in reality, he was enjoying his time at home. Suryakant and Jaisingh conducted a crackdown at Abdul’s house, and they took him into their custody and secretly sent him to Karnataka on a train. The corrupt officers who were on Telgi’s payroll obviously tracked Suryakant and Jaisingh and stopped them before they could exit the state boundaries, but little did they know that Abdul was not traveling with them, as they very well knew that their convoy would be stopped midway. Now, CP Suri also couldn’t say anything in the matter because he knew that if the public got to know about it, then his involvement would come to light, and he would be suspended on charges of corruption. So once again, Abdul was in prison, and he knew that this time it wouldn’t be so easy to come out, as all the politicians and officers just wanted to separate themselves from the scam and were readily providing proof against him to the concerned authorities. Politicians Jadhav and Deosahab also gave the address of his godown, where all the stamp papers were being stored, and it added another nail to the coffin that Abdul Karim Telgi had made for himself.
Why did Telgi confess to his crimes?
At the end of Scam 2003: The Telgi Story Volume 2, Abdul had reached a point where he knew that he wouldn’t be able to evade the clutches of law this time. Everything was falling apart, and he was running out of ways and means to keep himself afloat. Abdul’s mother passed away during this time, and he couldn’t even grant her the last wish she had made; she just wanted to meet her son once before dying. A narco test was conducted during this time, and Abdul took the names of Jadhav, Deosahab, and many others, which made the Karnataka government realize that they would have to do something so that their involvement didn’t come to light. A PIL was filed by an activist against Telgi during this time, and that’s when the Karnataka ministers got the idea that if such PILs were filed in the 20-odd states where cases on Abdul were ongoing, then the matter would be referred to a central investigation team and Suryakant and Jaisingh would be removed from the equation. They knew if the CTI investigated the matter, they would be able to hide a lot of information. Around this time, Abdul asked Suryakant if he would help him write his book, where he would reveal the names of each and every person who was involved in the stamp counterfeiting scam. Suryakant had agreed, but Abdul had also made up his mind to take everybody down with him. Something happened that brought about a change in his perception, and he decided to confess to his crimes.
Abdul always said that he was a victim of a capitalist society and that he did nothing wrong by scamming the government. He said that he was a graduate, but still, he never got an opportunity to improve his conditions and was forced to live a life of depravity. He said that he had not taken anything from the common man, but even if the government had gotten those hundreds of crores, they would have never used it for the welfare of the poor. Abdul said that in scams like these, it was always people like him who got into trouble, but little did anybody realize that the entire system was rigged and everybody had a role to play in it.
Abdul met his wife during the time the court proceedings were going against him, and that’s when he had a change of heart. His wife, Nafisa, said to relieve them of the burden of his actions and confess to his crimes so that they could live without embarrassment and guilt. She said she was only going to talk to him if he did that, and surprisingly, Abdul agreed to it. He had lost his mother, and she had left him in a very depressed state of mind. He didn’t want to lose any more people. He didn’t care about what society thought, but he did want to look his wife in the eyes one last time and tell her that he was not such a bad man. The court sentenced him to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment and added 13 more years later, in 2007, for another crime. Abdul was in a deplorable state during his last days in prison. On October 23, 2017, his tragic life came to an end as he succumbed to his illness. Nafisa never took the properties he had left for her and her daughter, as she didn’t want to reap the benefits of her husband’s corrupt activities. The politicians roamed free as Abdu had taken the entire blame in order to repent for his sin. But it was way too late and his fate was already sealed and during his end moments, all he was left with was regret, and disappointment.
