A DIAMOND trader was cheated out of rough and polished diamonds worth around Rs 72 lakh allegedly by a broker who defaulted on payments over the past year, police said on Saturday. The accused broker was arrested on Saturday but no recoveries have been made yet, they added. Amit Shah, a resident of Pal in Surat, runs a diamond trading office at Mahidharpura in Surat for the past 15 years. Shah had been in the business of rough and polished diamonds with Jagdish Italia for the past five years. However, he shut down his diamond business last year and introduced his nephew, Hardik Dhamelia, who runs a diamond brokerage business. Shah alleged in his complaint registered at the Mahidhapura police station that, starting from October 2024, Dhamelia had contacted him and started a business by taking rough and polished diamonds on credit (45-days' payment) and selling them to different parties. Dhamelia had paid on time for five such transactions, and once he gained trust, he started taking more polished diamonds. Shah alleged, "Dhameliya had taken polished and rough diamonds starting from January 2025 and at different time intervals on credit of 45 days and defaulted on the payment of Rs. 71 94 lakh.” Shah visited Dhamelia’s house in the Utran area a few days ago but found it locked. When contacted over phone, Dhamelia denied that any payments were pending on his part. On the basis of Amit Shah’s complaint on Thursday, Mahidharpura police arrested Hardik Dhamelia from Varachha on Saturday under different sections of BNS 316(5) (Criminal Breach of trust). Surat Mahidharpura police inspector N H Bhrambhatt said, “We have arrested the accused and have started the process to recover the diamonds and pending dues. The accused had also allegedly threatened the complainant.”
