In the first episode of Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, we witnessed the journey of Abdul Karim Telgi, a man from a small village in Karnataka. He moved to Bombay and started working at a guest house, eventually marrying the owner’s daughter, Nafisa. However, his life took a turn when he was arrested for forging fake passports. In prison, he met a fellow inmate, Kaushal who became his friend and business partner. After their release, they attempted to steal stamps from share certificates, but it wasn’t profitable. Telgi then came up with the idea to sell fake stamp papers and devised a solid plan on how to collect them. Scam 2003 Episode 2 showed how Telgi crafted a master plan to steal original stamp papers, which ultimately became the key to his financial success.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Telgi Acquire Stamp Papers?
In Scam 2003 Episode 2, Telgi hatches a clever plan to acquire valuable stamp papers. He explained how stamp papers were distributed across India, starting in Nasik and passing through various checkpoints. Telgi realized that stealing stamp papers from the Old Custom House would be too risky, so he decided to target the train carrying the papers from Wadi Bunder station. Despite the high security, Telgi was determined to proceed with his plan. He knew that the station masters would inspect the papers multiple times, adding to the risk factor. To avoid detection, Telgi decided to create fake stamp papers and swap them during the heist. He bribed the assistant station master, Saheb Rao, to get him on his side. Telgi, introducing himself as a filmmaker, duped an art director from the film industry and managed to obtain printing plates of stamp papers from him. He booked an invitation card printing factory to produce the fake stamp papers. During the train heist, within only six minutes, Telgi and his accomplice replaced the original stamp papers with fakes and successfully completed their daring operation.
Telgi and his partner had several bundles of stamp papers, which they thought could be sold quickly to the lawyers for a big profit. However, they faced a problem during their attempts to sell those papers. Initially, they approached Ganesh Kambley, but he declined, explaining that he didn’t need a large number of these papers. He was a regular lawyer with a small caseload, unlike corporate lawyers, who needed them on a larger scale. Telgi and his partner then turned to corporate lawyers. While some of them readily purchased the papers, others insisted on seeing the sellers’ vendor license. Without the proper vendor license, some of these lawyers were unwilling to buy any stamp papers from Telgi.
How Did Telgi Manage To Acquire Vendor License?
The requirement for a vendor license started bothering Telgi. In contrast, his partner, Kaushal didn’t bother about the license because he was happy with the money they were making by selling stamp papers to regular lawyers and gaining a limited profit. However, Telgi’s ambition for higher earnings drove him to seek ways to get the vendor license at any cost. He wanted to expand beyond the limited revenue they were making. He started brainstorming ideas to acquire the license, and eventually, he decided to gain the support of the police force to help him achieve his goal.
During this time, a police raid on his printing shop caught Telgi off guard when his forgery operation was on the brink of being discovered. To safeguard himself from future police raids, Telgi decided to bribe the officer to gain his trust. He offered a significant amount of money to the police with the condition that they would donate the funds to a nearby dargah, enhancing their reputation in the neighborhood. This move granted Telgi considerable support from law enforcement, but he remained worried about the vendor license and waited for the right moment to ask these officers for a favor.
What Caused The Rift Between Telgi And His Business Partner?
During that time, Kaushal took him to a dancing bar as a way to celebrate their business success. Telgi was reluctant at first, but he eventually agreed to celebrate a little. However, once he experienced the booze and women dancing around him, he became captivated by the bar atmosphere, particularly by a dancer who caught his eye instantly. Telgi’s visits to the bar became a daily routine, and it seemed his desires and ambitions were growing stronger. He became so consumed by greed and ambition that he was even willing to neglect his own family.
Telgi took Inspector Dombey and the other police officer to the bar, treating them to a heavy drinking session. However, as they drank, Telgi began to grow distant from Kaushal and started siding more with the officers. Amid the drinking, Telgi discussed his vendor license problem with Dombey. In response, Dombey suggested that he approach MLA Tukaram, a corrupt politician, who could assist him in getting the license in exchange for a substantial bribe. Despite his friend’s advice against associating with such people, Telgi didn’t hesitate and decided to look into the option suggested by Dombey. Telgi’s business partner wanted to protect their business and warned him against wasting all the money by bribing the police and politicians. However, Telgi’s ambition to secure the vendor license knew no bounds. Telgi went as far as bribing MLA Tukaram by making a donation to his NGO. But even Tukaram couldn’t help him acquire the license. Despite Tukaram’s assurance, the license officer refused to grant Telgi’s request. The officer was cautious due to multiple vendors being in the same line of business. He was also suspicious about Telgi’s background, so he avoided giving Telgi the license. In order to distract Telgi’s attention from the business, he cited the low profit margin in the stamp paper sales, but it didn’t seem like Telgi was convinced.
Even after giving a substantial sum of money to Tukaram, Telgi’s efforts to secure the license remained futile. As he returned to the printing factory, he found Kaushal waiting for him, visibly drunk and angry. Kaushal criticized Telgi for prioritizing political connections over their partnership. He mocked Telgi’s decision and expressed anger about the money given to people like Dombey and Tukaram. The argument had no effect on Telgi, as he still believed in the worth of his decision. A physical fight took place between them. Telgi, beaten by Kaushal, asked him to get lost and chose to operate the business on his own.
In the upcoming episodes of Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, we can anticipate seeing Telgi take on the responsibility of running the business on his own. However, it remains uncertain as to whether his political connections and ties with law enforcement will lead him to great success in his business or result in the loss of his hard-earned money.
