The scandal has ensnared two legislators and several police officers, including former Mumbai commissioner R S Sharma and Joint Police Commissioner Sridhar Vagal.

Stamp papers are used to legalise contractual agreements, and the sales of stamp papers accounting for a large amount of state governments' revenue. Even as fake stamp papers circulated all around the country, especially in Mumbai, the police looked the other way. Finally, social activist Anna Hazare moved the Bombay high court, which asked the Maharashtra government to set up a Special Investigation Team to probe the scam.

Text: Dhiraj Shetty

What the scandal is all about
The stamp of corruption