Three persons, including a diamond broker, were booked on Monday by the Mahidharpura police in Surat for allegedly robbing a diamond trader of Rs 50.89 lakh.The police identified the complainant as Praful Malaviya, who runs diamond trading office ‘Dhanani Exports’ at Mahidharpura. He accused Harsh Mehta, Laxman Munia and Bharat Prajapati, all residents of Surat, of cheating.
Malaviya alleged that Mehta came to his house last December and arranged a phone call from men who posed as diamond merchants. He added that Mehta also made Malaviya talk to Munia and Prajapati over the phone, who posed as diamond buyers.
Following this, Malaviya handed over polished natural diamonds weighing 316.34 carat, worth Rs 65.39 lakh, to Mehta. The FIR said that after a few days, when Malaviya started demanding payment for the diamonds, Mehta paid Rs 14.5 lakh and sought a few weeks to pay the rest.
According to Malaviya, when he contacted Mehta in February and March for payment of pending dues, Mehta initially made excuses and then stopped speaking to him. Following this, Malaviya approached the police.
Mahidharpura police Inspector J B Chaudhary said, “We have registered a case on the basis of Praful Malaviya’s statement. We are looking for Harsh who stays both in Ahmedabad and Surat… Laxman and Bharat reside in Surat. We will also record their statements.”
The accused were booked under various sections of the IPC including for cheating and criminal conspiracy.
