Mumbai: Two people were arrested within seven hours after receiving a complaint from a diamond merchant that precious stones worth ₹1.18 crore have been missing from his shop. The duo was identified as Mukesh Babubhai Gopani, 40, from Kandivali and Naresh Kababhai Sarvaiya, 34, from Lalbagh.
Speaking about the case, the Mumbai Crime Branch said that the offence was committed in Gujarat's Surat and they received information that the suspects were hiding in Mumbai.
Accused introduced themselves as brokers
On February 18, diamond merchant Dharmesh Pawashiya lodged a complaint at Surat's Mahidharpura police station that two people came to his shop and introduced themselves as brokers. They were talking business over a cup of tea when one of the suspects spilled the tea on the case in which diamonds were kept. Then, on the pretext of cleaning it, he replaced the real diamonds with fake ones, read the complaint.
Till next day, Pawashiya was unaware about the sleight of hand when he glanced at the 'diamonds' and found something amiss. Upon checking, he found that the stones were fake. At this moment, the entire episode of spilling the tea and wiping it struck him, and he realised the fraud.
Gujarat police received a tip-off
During the probe, Gujarat police received a tip-off that the suspects were hiding in Mumbai hence they immediately alerted the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of Mumbai Crime Branch. Subsequently, a CIU team led Incharge Inspector Milind Kate and Inspector Abhijit Shinde spread a dragnet for the suspects and succeeded in arresting them with the help of technical investigation.
Crime Branch Deputy Commissioner of Police Prashant Kadam said, “We have caught both the accused and handed them over to the Gujarat police.” A case has been registered against them for cheating and other relevant offences. Further probe is underway to determine if they have committed such fraud in the past as well.
