4 yrs RI for Telgi, 5 others

4 yrs RI for Telgi, 5 others

Hyderabad: Fake stamp paper scam kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi and five others were today sentenced to four-years rigorous imprisonment by a special CBI court here after they pleaded guilty in the case


Judge V Raghunath Rao pronounced the terms for Telgi, P Abdul Waheed, Thomas Jacob, Badruddin K Jamadar, B Sadasiva and K Mohd Yousuf after they pleaded guilty on charges under section 120-B of Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to criminal conspiracy and under sections 258 (Sale and circulation of fake stamps), 260 (possession of fake stamps) and 420 (cheating) of IPC , with fine of Rs 500 each.


The judge, however, dropped charges under IPC section 255 dealing with counterfeiting (printing) of government stamp papers against Telgi on the grounds of lack of material evidence. The court also found them guilty under section 69 (B) of Indian Stamp Act and imposed sentences of six months simple imprisonment.


Telgi's advocate Farhatullah told reporters that his client confessed his involvement in the scam.


The judgment has come in one of the two cases registered against Telgi and his associated in Hyderabad.


The CBI has not yet filed chargesheet in the other case. Telgi faces about 50 cases in the fake stamp paper scam in different parts of the country.


All the sentences will run concurrently. The judge in his orders also directed that the remand period if any undergone by all the accused is set off under section 428 CrPC. Telgi, currently lodged in a Bangalore jail, was brought by an escort police party of Karnataka and produced in the court on January 20, which posted the case for framing of charges today.

The CBI had filed a charge sheet in the court against Telgi and five others after the case was transferred to the agency by Hyderabad Police in 2004.

Bathinda court issues arrest warrant against Dera chief

Bathinda (Punjab), June 20 (IANS) A court here Wednesday issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh for hurting religious sentiments of the Sikh community.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate A.L. Kitchi issued the warrants on the basis of a May 20 case registered against the Dera chief, in which he was charged under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The judge directed that the Punjab police will have to take the permission of the state government before arresting him.

The court order came even as a letter from the Dera head reached the protesting Sikh community (Sant Samaj) leaders in Chandigarh.

Though contents of the letter were not made public, sources in the Sant Samaj said that it was a re-worded apology to the Sikh community.

Sikh leaders were meeting in Chandigarh to deicide their further course of action after the latest letter.

They have been protesting at Mohali near Chandigarh since Tuesday seeking immediate arrest of Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh for committing blasphemy by portraying himself like 10th Sikh guru Gobind Singh.

The Dera chief had apologized to the Sikh gurus for his "unintentional act" in May after the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, issued a deadline to his sect to wind up all its activities in Punjab by May 27.

The Sikh leadership also asked Sikhs to socially boycott the Dera head and his sect followers.

The Dera-Sikh controversy had led to widespread violence in Punjab for over a week in May.

Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh lives in the sprawling headquarters of the sect near Sirsa in neighbouring Haryana, 100 km from here.

The Punjab police will have to seek the help of their counterparts in Haryana to arrest him from his fortified headquarters even as millions of his supporters are expected to oppose his arrest.