A court in Maharashtra’s Nashik on Monday acquitted Abdul Karim Telgi, who was convicted and jailed for masterminding a multi-crore fake stamp paper scam for lack of “solid evidence” against them, PTI reported. The district and sessions court also acquitted seven others in the case.

Telgi had died in a Bengaluru hospital in October 2017, and the charges against him were abated following his death.

Telgi and an associate managed to obtain a stamp-vending licence in 1994. He allegedly purchased genuine stamp papers to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore, which according to the Central Bureau of Investigation was then mixed with fake stamp papers and sold for a turnover of almost Rs 10 crore. He also dabbled in money laundering and the kerosene black market.

Telgi was arrested in November 2001. He was sentenced to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment. Last year, he was hospitalised with meningitis. Telgi, a diabetic, was in hospital for a week and was put on ventilator support after multiple organ failure.