By IANS
Chennai : A special court here Wednesday sentenced Abdul Karim Telgi, the main accused in a multi-billion rupee fake stamp scam, to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) and imposed a whopping Rs.30 million fine on him.
The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court found Telgi and four others guilty of having sold fake stamp papers worth Rs.250 million in Chennai alone.
The sentence would run concurrent to an earlier 13-year jail term awarded to Telgi by a Pune court, judge N. Velu ruled.
The four co-accused, Abdul Wahid, Jacob Chacko, Peter Kennedy and Balaji, were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment terms varying between three and five years, besides fines ranging between Rs.25,000 and Rs.20 million.
Should the convicts fail to pay the fines, the prison terms would be enhanced to periods ranging between two and three years, the court ruled.
Wahid was awarded five years RI and fined Rs.300,000, while Balaji got the same jail term but a fine of Rs.20 million. Chacko was also sentenced to five years RI and a fine of Rs.300,000 while Kennedy got a three-year jail term and was fined Rs.25,000.
Lodged in Pune Central Prison, Telgi, Wahid and Chacko heard the pronouncement through video conferencing. Balaji and Kennedy were present in the court.
All the accused had pleaded guilty.
The time already spent in prison by the convicts would be set off against the sentences, the judge added.