Mumbai: The BKC police have booked a 27-year-old diamond broker for allegedly usurping gemstones worth Rs 4.28 crore after slyly taking them from two diamond merchants on the pretext of lucrative deals. The accused was identified as Druwal Tejani.
In his complaint lodged on May 17, Chiragdas Gondalia, 32, said that he is a partner in his father's 'Manas James Diamond Company' and that he came into contact with Tejani through his former diamond broker. The two had known each other for the last seven months.
On April 6, the accused arrived at Gondalia's BKC office, claiming that he had got in touch with a diamond agent and needed high-quality gemstones for a 'profitable' deal. Unsuspecting, the complainant handed over 189.49 carats of cut and polished diamonds worth Rs 57.79 lakh and took Tejani's signature on a receipt. The latter assured that he would inform about the deal within a week.
A few days later, Tejani again took diamonds worth more than Rs 1.77 crore on the same pretext. However, when Gondalia inquired about the deal, the accused gave evasive replies and didn't even return the diamonds.
The complainant said that upon inquiry with peers, he came to know that Tejani had cheated another diamond dealer, Shreenathji Diamond Company, in a similar manner and decamped with gemstones worth Rs 1.27 crore. Gondalia claimed that the accused usurped a total of 1,407.66 carats of diamonds worth Rs 4.28 crore from both the companies. However, he did not provide details of other deals. A cheating case has been registered in the matter.
