Mumbai, Nov 08: Shridhar Vagal, a senior Maharashtra police officer, will be produced in a Pune court today, in connection with the multi-crore Telgi stamp paper scam.
Vagal, who is Joint Commissioner, Intelligence, was arrested on Friday for allegedly taking bribes from Abdul Karim Telgi, the main accused in the fake stamp paper scam.

The Joint Commissioner is the highest-ranking police officer to be arrested in the multi-crore Telgi stamp paper case.

Vagal was arrested on charges that he went soft on India's number one forger Abdul Telgi, while in his custody.
Telgi was in the custody of the Crime Branch between October 2002 and January 2003. Vagal was the then Joint Commissioner of the Crime Branch and is accused of providing Telgi with special comforts, while Telgi ran his operation from jail.


Through his four-month custody, Telgi did not spend a single day in jail. He was either put up at his house or at a hotel.

Telgi also made business trips to places like Goa and Karnataka with police escort.

When fake stamps worth Rs 830 crore were found in a godown in Bhiwandi, Vagal allegedly made sure that Telgi was not booked in the case.

Bureau Report