Mumbai cops cancel licence of Telgi's lodge

The Mumbai police has cancelled the licence of Alankar Lodge, which is owned by Abdul Karim Telgi who is the prime accused in the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam.

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The police action came after the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to probe the scam, wrote to the Mumbai police requesting cancellation of the lodge's licence, police sources said on Wednesday.

The SIT has urged the special MCOCA court in Pune to attach this property along with nearly half a dozen others that belong to Telgi.

The SIT suspects Telgi purchased the lodge from the scam money. It has evidence that he had visited the lodge to collect money when he was in the custody of the Mumbai police, allegedly accompanied by Crime Branch officials, sources said.

Though the SIT had brought this to the notice of a senior Crime Branch official, no action was taken against the erring policemen.

Interestingly, the Crime Branch officers had also taken Telgi to his Cuffe Parade apartment in January 2003. SIT chief Subodh Jaiswal and Karnataka Additional DGP Sree Kumar had raided the place and arrested Telgi.

The SIT has sealed some of his properties in Mumbai: Cuffe Parade apartment, a flat at Shirin Manzil, an apartment in Sunny House and a duplex at Mathuradas Estate. The SIT suspects Telgi has a stake in Thane Polyorganics, an industrial unit. It has sealed but not attached the property.

The SIT, sources said, has recently recorded the statement of one more Crime Branch official.