The Hindu : Karnataka News : `Stamp scam money used to pay ransom to brigand '

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 29, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

`Stamp scam money used to pay ransom to brigand '

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JULY 28. "... the money of Kareem Lala is involved in Veerappan (Rajkumar abduction) case... " said Sangram Singh, retired police official, who has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the multicrore fake stamp paper scam.

Making a voluntary statement before the X Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, C.M.Joshi, on July 26, he said the Stamp Paper Investigation Team (Stampit), constituted by the State Government, to look into the scam had refused to "take my statement regarding the use of money from (Abdul Kareem) Telgi in the Veerappan case." Telgi is the prime accused in the fake stamp scandal.

In the 22-page certified copy of the confessional statement, obtained by The Hindu , the former police official claimed that he was sent twice to Chennai, each time with suitcases containing Rs. 10 crore in September and October, 2000. The money was meant to be given to the forest brigand Veerappan, to secure the release Kannada actor, Rajkumar, whom the brigand had held hostage for over 100 days.

Sangram Singh said in the statement that during his first assignment (of carrying the money to Chennai) in the third week of September, he had seen a "white person wearing a white safari with gold bracelet" sitting with the former Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, and others in the house and his son-in-law, Siddartha. The others included the Water Resources Minister, M. Mallikarjun Kharge. Later on, he had learnt that this stranger was Telgi himself.

When he had enquired with Mr. Siddartha, the latter had told him that he was "Sri Lala, who is a big businessman from Mumbai."

Prior to this, he had heard the then Home Minister, Roshan Baig "pronouncing the name `Lala.'" When he arrested five persons in April 1997 at Shalimar Hotel, City Market, Mr. Baig had telephoned him and said the accused were "My men. Do not do anything more now onwards. I obeyed the orders of the Home Minister." Thereafter, he said, he had accompanied his senior officer to the house of Mr. Baig. It was then that he had overheard Mr. Baig pronounce the word "Lala."

Sangram Singh said: "After completion of the investigation, I filed the chargesheet before the concerned court showing one of the accused, i.e., accused No. 6 as absconding."

Mr. Sangram Singh, who has devoted most part of his statement to the alleged ransom payment to Veerappan, said he had delivered the first consignment of Rs. 10 crore at the house of the Manager of Rajnikanth, the well-known film actor, and the next to Adikeshavalu, a liquor baron. He claimed that he had met the three sons of Rajkumar at different stages in the process.

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