Stamp Of A Trickster

The biggest scam of the year, involving Rs 4,800 crore, has so far claimed the scalps of the Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal (finally buckling under mounting pressure, even though he assigned a different reason to his resignation), senior police officials and two MLAs, besides threatening the stability of the state governments of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Abdul Karim Ladasaheb Telgi's well-oiled network was spread across an astonishing 22 states. The peanut vendor from a Karnataka village came to Mumbai to make his fortune. And he did make it-through small rackets initially and then hitting big time when he started printing fake stamp papers. Such were his connections that his business flourished even when he was on the run from the law. Investigators are now uncovering the real extent of his empire and influence.

A Finger In Every Exam

Ranjit Singh, a 33-year-old veteran of the cheating game, who bought himself an MBBS degree, held the fate of 1.27 lakh cat candidates in his hands. When the CBI uncovered the leakage, it also stumbled upon a vast network from Patna to Delhi. Ranjit Don's sphere of influence extended from Bihar's medical entrance examinations to bank probationary officers exams. The scam raised questions about the credibility of entrance exams and triggered a furious battle for control of the IIMS.

You could not fault them on ambition. In one of its most brazen violations of the law, the Mayawati regime decided to parcel out pieces of prime real estate to a select few. So what if the real estate happened to be just behind the Taj Mahal and involved reclaiming land on the banks of the Yamuna, putting the monument at threat. If it had not been for ever-vigilant activists and an informed media, Mayawati's regime would have, by now, managed to change the contours of India's best-known monuments.

Lies And Videotape

Every few years a scandal comes along that redefines the limits of political intrigue. In November, BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan heard that Raipur business circles were discussing a "video" about a BJP politician. Dilip Singh Judev probably got Mahajan's warning too late. Like Bangaru Laxman, he could only bleat later about being cheated. It was quite apparent who had footed the bill for the sting operation. But his bete noire, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi, did not get to savour the moment for long. The BJP got even with Jogi-first by defeating him in the assembly polls and then by trapping him on audio tape offering money to MLAs to split the BJP.

Listing A Bad Asset

Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar never had it so bad. With the US branding him a global terrorist in October, Dawood can no longer count on a safe haven in Pakistan, which denies that the don is based in the country. In one stroke, the US put Pakistan under pressure to deliver one of the most wanted men in India and at the same time put the terrorist label on the D-company and its network in South Asia. With the US planning to request the United Nations as well to list the mafia don as a global terrorist, things are bound to get only tougher. A UN listing will entail freezing of all his assets in member countries as well as a travel ban. Wanted for several crimes, besides the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, life on the run may not be easy for Dawood. Mumbai will probably look like home.

Peddler In The Net

Hemant Lakhani never saw a dollar he did not like. The 68-year-old London-based Gujarati businessman from Ghatkopar, Mumbai, unsuccessfully tried everything from importing women's garments to basmati rice and finally turned into a small-time arms dealer. His bid to sell missiles and dirty bombs to potential terrorists for use against civilian jetliners in the US came unstuck when the terrorists turned out to be intelligence agents from the US and Russia. Lakhani now faces a possible 25-year jail term.