BENGALURU: Bengaluru police busted a fake stamp paper scam worth Rs 2.71 crore on Friday, run by a gang of four whose kingpin is nicknamed Chota Telgi, after the original fake stamp paper racketeer Abdul Karim Telgi.Police identified the kingpin as Hussain Modi, a resident of Viveknagar, while the others are Harish of Basaveshwarnagar, Shavar alias Seema, and Nazma Fathima of Bapujinagar.
Police said they arrested two people, including Modi, on October 3 when they were at SJ Park, selling fake stamp paper. During questioning, Modi revealed the names of two vendors who bought fake stamp paper. Police raided Modi’s house and recovered 443 fake stamp papers of various denominations, ranging between Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000, worth Rs 2.72 crore. They seized colour printers, computers and fake seals of the sub-registrar office.
Modi, a Class 7 dropout, was a broker and dealt with land disputes and real estate around the city. He would help landlords buy and sell properties, and draw up rental documents, near Kandaya Bhavan and City Civil Court. In 2013, he and his accomplice were arrested for manufacturing and selling fake stamp papers and seals. All the accused were working as brokers and typists in the City Civil Court premises.
Harish a BA graduate, was a typist in a court, while Seema, a B.Com graduate, was a typist in the revenue office. Nazma, a Class 7 school dropout, worked as a broker and helps people draw up legal documents. The fifth accused, who would help the gang by creating fake seals, is still at large.