Abdul Karim Telgi, who was convicted and jailed for masterminding a multi-crore fake stamp paper scam, is in a critical condition at a Bengaluru hospital, PTI reported on Monday night.

The 56-year-old was admitted to Victoria hospital with meningitis, his lawyer MT Nanaiah said. Telgi has been in hospital for a week, and was put on ventilator support after a multi-organ failure, The Hindu reported. “He is in a critical condition,” Dr Balaji Pai, medical superintendent, emergency and trauma care told The New Indian Express.

Telgi was arrested in November 2001. He was sentenced to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment, and is serving his term in the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in Bengaluru. He has had diabetes and hypertension for years, and was allowed special privileges like an assistant in prison because of his medical condition.