Diamond dealer flees with diamonds worth ₹ 5.13 cr, booked

The accused took diamonds worth ₹5.13 crore from four diamond businessmen after gaining their confidence and has now switched off his phone

MUMBAI: A diamond dealer has been booked for allegedly cheating four diamond trading firms to the tune of ₹5.13 crore. The accused, identified as Chirag Patel approached the firms and took diamonds worth crores from them, promising to bring them customers, but then fled with the precious stones.

Diamond dealer flees with diamonds worth ₹ 5.13 cr, booked

The Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) police registered a case against Patel on Thursday based on a complaint lodged by the owner of one of the firms that was cheated--Ashish Godhani, Sales Manager at Brahma Diamonds, based in Bharat Diamond Bourse.

According to the police, Patel approached Godhani through a broker and told him that he had customers who needed polished diamonds. Godhani told the police that he knew Patel for the last seven years and has been associated with the broker who introduced them for the last 10 years, and had carried out several deals with them earlier.

Patel then allegedly told Godhani that he had shown the diamonds to customers and would soon close the deal. However, he switched his phone off later and couldn’t be contacted. When Godhani asked around for Patel at the Bharat Diamond Bourse, he learnt that Patel had taken diamonds from three other firms---worth ₹2.3 crore from Webs Diamonds, worth ₹76 lakh from Shakti Gems, and worth ₹72 lakh from Akshar Impex.

“From March 28 to April 25, Chirag took diamonds worth ₹5.13 crore from four diamond businessmen after gaining their confidence and has now switched off his phone,” said a police officer from the BKC police station.

The police have booked Patel under sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust, specifically targeting individuals entrusted with property or dominion over property, including public servants, bankers, merchants, and other professionals) and 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing someone to deliver property or alter a valuable security) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.