Sana Talikoti is famously known as Abdul Karim Telgi Daughter, the brains behind the infamous stamp paper scam (1992-2003). She has lived her formative years in struggle, hardships, and pain due to an incident that happened in her life that changed how the world looked at her. In this blog, we will go through the life of Sana Talikoti age, her life story, the much-highlighted revelation of her father’s scam, and the controversies she found herself in.
Who is Sana Talikoti
Sana Talikoti (née Telgi) was born in the Belagavi district of Karnataka, India. She was born in 1988 (est.). Her religion is Islam, and she is known as the daughter of Abdul Karim Telgi, who is known to have led the infamous stamp paper scam from the early 90s to 2000. He was arrested in 2001 in Ajmer, Rajasthan.
| Name | Sana Irfan Talikoti ( nee Telgi) |
| Birth City | Belagavi, Karnataka, India |
| Birth Year | Not known (est. around 1988) |
| Known for | Daughter of Abdul Karim Telgi |
| Religion | Islam |
| Nationality | Indian |
Sana Talikoti Age, Height, & Physical Appearance
Though Sana Talikoti is a private person and she doesn’t make many media appearances, it’s clear through some of her photos on the internet that she has a light brown skin tone common in the south asian subcontinent. Her hair is black in color, and she has black-colored eyes. According to the reports, her estimated birth year is 1988, which makes her around 37 years old as of 2025. Her height is 5 feet 5 inches.
| Age | 37 years ( as of reports) |
| Skin tone | Warm to Light brown skin tone |
| Eye color | Black |
| Hair color | Black |
| Height | 5 feet 5 inches |
Educational Qualification
According to the reports, she has completed her education in Karnataka, but her detailed background in education is not known.
Formative Years & Childhood
Sana Talikoti was born in a middle-class Muslim family to Abdul Karim Telgi and Shahida Telgi in Karnataka, India. Her estimated birth year is 1988, as per reports. Due to being from a middle-income family, her father worked hard to make ends meet. As per reports, she doesn’t have any siblings; if we find any information on this, we will update our blog. Sana Talikoti and her family had lived their life in privacy, living life with dignity and respect like any other common man, until the infamous scam happened.
Family Background
Sana Talikoti father, Abdul Karim Telgi, used to do small jobs to sustain his family, and her mother, Shahida Telgi, was a homemaker. After the court convicted her father for his involvement in the stamp paper scam in 2001, the family suffered a huge blow. They faced emotional and financial struggles during that period.
According to reports, Talikoti and her family faced emotional isolation from society as they looked at her family with suspicious and judgmental eyes. Sana’s only source of strength was her mother until her unfortunate demise in 2022. The court sentenced Abdul Talikoti to 30 years in jail for his involvement in various cases, but meningitis claimed his life in 2017.
Sana is married to a businessman, Irfan Talikoti (June 2014), and has a child named Arman.
| Father | Abdul Karim Telgi | Sales Executive, Manager at Kishan Guest House, later opened an Arabian Metro Travels Travel Agency |
| Mother | Shahida Telgi ( nee Begum) | Homemaker |
| Grandfather | Ladsaab Telgi | Indian Railways |
| Grandmother | Shariefa Bee Ladsaab Telgi | Not Known |
| Spouse | Irfan Talikoti (June 2014-present) | Businessman |
| Children | Arman (Son) | Not Known |
Sana Talikoti Father: Abdul Karim Telgi
Abdul Karim Telgi was born in a middle-class household to Shariefabee Ladsaab Telgi and Ladsaab Telgi. After the unfortunate death of his father, his family faced a lot of financial struggle. To support his family, he started working at a very young age by selling fruits at Khanapur station. He started working as a Sales Executive at M/S Filix India Ltd in Mumbai. But his employer fired him because of his weak performance at work.
He then moved to Saudi Arabia and saw potential in the travel agency business when it was earning profits. Later, he opened his own business called Arabian Metro Travels, where he used to send ineligible clients. The forged documents caused problems for him because the authorities either delayed or rejected his immigration clearance. The furious clients filed a case against him, and the Mumbai Police arrested him for cheating under the Immigration Act.
The Notorious Scam: Introduction to Ram Ratan Yogi and the world of stamp papers
After his arrest, he met a stockbroker, Ram Ratan Yogi, whom the police had arrested for recycling used stamp paper. Ram introduced him to stamp paper and the negligence in this department by the officials. Telgi became influenced and began reusing non-judicial stamp papers and self-adhesive papers. His team used to create a false scarcity of authentic documents, and then they would sell fake stamp papers to the people.
The Revelation and the Arrest
The authorities uncovered the scam in 2000 when they arrested two couriers carrying fake stamp paper in Bengaluru. In 2001, the police arrested Abdul Karim in Ajmer, Rajasthan. The court sentenced him to 30 years in jail, and he remained in prison until he died in 2017.
Outcome
In 2003, the scam got wide media attention because the scam was not noticed by anyone and went over everyone’s radar. This scam was hugely under the limelight for selling fake documents for more than a decade. According to reports, the team of Telgi bribed the police officials and other bureaucrats to protect them from any legal actions. The judiciary made significant changes after the revelation of the scam. The government made the implementation of e-stamps mandatory and integrated the digitization of stamp paper records into the Indian Judiciary System.
Sana Talikoti’s Involvement in Family Conflict
In February 2018, after Abdul Karim’s funeral, Sana filed a case against her relatives at the Belagavi Police Station. According to the Deccan Chronicle, her relatives attacked Sana and her mother, Shahida, when her husband, Irfan, was not at home. She alleged that both the uncles physically assaulted Talikoti even when she revealed her pregnancy and her mother’s multiple organ failure. According to the sources, the relatives were unhappy with the asset transfer of Abdul to the government. And they often had verbal fights over this conflict. Sana pleaded with the police to take action against her relatives and initiate the investigation.
Sana Talikoti’s Controversy: Media Presence & Legal Battle
In December 2022, Sana filed a case against the director Hansal Mehta and the creators of the series Scam 2003: The Telgi Story for making the series on the life of Abdul Karim Telgi, his involvement in the stamp paper scam in the 90s to 2000, his rise to be the infamous mastermind behind the forgery, and his arrest.
According to the reports, she objected to the release of the series, as the makers did not take the consent of the family before the storyline development and production of the series. She claimed that the series drew its story from a book that did not present facts accurately and that it would harm the dignity and honor of her family.
The city’s civil court, where Sana reportedly filed a lawsuit, rejected her petition. Talikoti stood courageously in her argument and showed her concerns about how the series would harm her family’s reputation and privacy.
Scam 2003: The Telgi Story
After getting critical praises worldwide for The Scam 1992, based on the Indian stock market scam by Harshad Mehta, director Hansal Mehta started scripting for the sequel of the scam series: Scam 2003-The Telgi Story. It was based on the life story of Abdul Karim Telgi, who is known as the “kingpin” of the stamp paper scam that started in 1992 and came into media attention in 2003.
It is based on the novel ‘Telgi Scam: Reporters Ki Diary” by Sanjay Singh. The story shows Telgi’s life in poverty, his introduction to the world of Mumbai, and his involvement in a travel agency’s fake documents, leading him to be in jail. His meeting with Ram Ratan Yogi and his understanding of the stamp paper world, and negligence in the government department.
And eventually leading one of the biggest scams in the world, the stamp paper scam. Tushar Hiranandani directed the movie. Gagan Dev Riar plays the lead role of Abdul Karim Telgi, and Sana Amin Sheikh and Mukesh Tiwari also appear in supporting roles.
The Problem continues: Dispute with the Family Lawyer.
In April 2024, Sana came into the limelight once again when she filed a lawsuit against her family lawyer in the Karnataka Bar Council. Apparently, her lawyer, Mr. S.K. Nandagadi, had transferred some of her father’s properties to her uncle in a compensation agreement. According to the reports of Belgaum Pro, Karim had allocated some of the funds to attain the six acres of land held by her uncle. She reportedly claimed that after Telgi’s arrest, advocate Nandagadi possessed all the related documents and illegally transferred the six-acre land to her uncle, which broke the trust of her and her family. She felt that she trusted her family lawyer, and he went to her nemesis, her uncle Abdul Azeem. Responding to her accusations, Advocate Nandagadi denied all the allegations, stating that he has not broken anyone’s trust and that all the claims against him are false.
Sana Talikoti Net Worth
Although there is not much information about Sana Talikoti’s net worth, according to some internet sources, especially the website biographies, her standard of living is comfortable, and her wealth consists of assets and property she got after fighting a legal battle with her relative in 2022.
| Year | Estimated Net Worth (INR) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ₹3.1 crore | Property and asset growth |
| 2024 | ₹2.94 crore | Legal costs reduced profits |
| 2023 | ₹2.8 crore | Moderate financial stability |
| 2022 | ₹2.7 crore | Partial property disputes settled |
| 2021 | ₹2.6 crore | Assets under legal review |
Conclusion
Sana Talikoti life has never been smooth sailing, as one would like to believe. She spent her childhood in financial struggles and then her entire adult life facing a society full of skeptical and discerning looks. The scandalous stamp paper crime led by her father, Abdul Karim Telgi, was not only reflective of how far greed can lead a man. But also eye-opening for the judiciary as they found many loopholes in the various government departments. Despite all the media attention, she never used her media appearances for her personal benefit. Rather, she always maintained that no one ever harmed her or her family’s reputation. Though she remained private, she opposed the wrongful doings done against her late father and her family.
FAQs
Ans. Sana Talikoti is the daughter of Abdul Karim Telgi, who was the mastermind behind the stamp paper scam(started in 1992, came to light in 2003).
Ans. Two couriers carrying fake stamp paper were seized by the police in Bangalore, and it led to the people behind it confessing to the whole crime in 2000.
Ans. Abdul was arrested in the subsequent year,2001, in Ajmer, Rajasthan.
Ans. Abdul Karim Telgi died on 23rd October,2017, after suffering from meningitis. He was battling with long-term health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, and HIV.
Ans. Sana Talikoti filed a case against the director Hansal Mehta and the makers of the Sony Liv series: Scam 2003-The Telgi Story in 2022. She claimed that makers did not take the family’s consent before creating this, and it could harm her late father’s and her family’s reputation and dignity.
You can also read about:
Mihir Ahuja Bio/Wiki, Career, Age, Relationships, Net Worth and More
