Editor’s Note
This article details a sophisticated fraud case in Surat, where a diamond trader was deceived out of ₹4.55 crore. The incident underscores the vulnerabilities in high-value transactions and serves as a cautionary tale for businesses.
A shocking case of fraud has come to light in Surat, Gujarat. Here, a conman duped a diamond trader of four and a half crore rupees. In fact, a cunning thief, posing as a buyer, stole diamonds worth 4.55 crore rupees. The thief replaced a real 10.08-carat diamond with a fake one. Police have registered a case against the thief and his accomplice. This incident occurred in the Mahidharpura area of Surat.
Chirag Shah, a diamond trader from Surat, has a shop named ‘Akshat Gems’. Chirag’s son Akshat received a call from a trader named Bharat Prajapati. Bharat informed him that a 10.08-carat diamond was listed for sale on a website called RapNet. This diamond was of D color and VVS2 purity. Bharat asked Akshat to find out about the owner of this diamond, as a trader named Hitesh Purohit wanted to buy it.
Akshat contacted the diamond owner, Yogesh Kaklotkar, and arranged for the diamond to be brought to show Purohit. On June 8, Prajapati and two brokers named Sunny and Milan Surdakar came to Shah’s office. Everyone went to meet Purohit. Purohit negotiated the price of the diamond. However, he said he would make the full payment later. Shah refused and insisted on receiving the full payment upfront. On June 24, Sunny informed Shah that Purohit was now ready to pay the money.
The next day, Akshat again took the diamond from Kaklotkar, and Shah and Akshat went to Purohit’s office. Purohit checked the diamond and its certificate. Then he said he would pay 10 lakh rupees in advance and the remaining amount at the time of delivery. Purohit left the office on the pretext of taking money from the safe. However, he left the diamond on the table itself. Akshat noticed that the diamond left on the table was fake. It looked just like the real diamond but was not genuine.
Shah and Akshat tried to find Purohit but he was not found. Even after repeated calls, he did not answer the phone. Following this, Shah filed a complaint at the Mahidharpura Police Station.
Chauhan expressed hope that all the accused would be arrested soon.