How a near perfect diamond heist was ‘foiled’ 2 months later — due to old prison mates’ betrayal

On Friday, May 29, Rajkot City Police’s Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) announced the arrest of 34-year-old Ajay Jagdish Lallu Nayka, a resident of Umarpada in Surat, for stealing the diamonds on the intervening night of April 10-11.

Accused Ajay Jagdish Lallu Nayka, held for Stealing 11,655 diamonds in Rajkot. (Express Photo)

Early reconnaissance

In early April, police said, Nayka began surveying the Bhaktinagar area of Rajkot, known for its cluster of diamond polishing units. After identifying a vulnerable unit, he allegedly hid tools in a shed next door, ensuring they were out of sight.

Nayka allegedly made two failed attempts on consecutive nights due to people being present at the site. On the third night, April 10, he “succeeded”. Carrying a bag of clothes and masks, he allegedly broke into the vault using the specialized cutting tools and stole the diamonds.

Scene of the heist: The reinforced vault broken open using precision tools in the Rajkot diamond theft. (Express Photo)

A thrice-guarded failsafe

“We were completely blind,” said Inspector Jadav. He said Nayka had employed three layers of identity protection: first, the accused wore a Guy Fawkes mask — popularised by the 1982 graphic novel V for Vendetta and its 2006 film adaptation. Second, Nayka allegedly disabled and removed the security control room’s Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and hard disk. Third, he changed his clothes inside and walked on the road divider to evade surrounding CCTVs.

“Most CCTVs aren’t angled to capture the divider or don’t have sufficient range, especially at night,” said an investigator. After reviewing footage from over 100 cameras, police found no usable images of Nayka.

The triple failsafe had worked, right until he failed to sell the diamonds.

After breaking in, failing to break even

In May, Nayka travelled to Vapi and Surat to sell the diamonds on the black market. But the diamond industry, being tightly knit, had already been alerted statewide. Unable to enter the legitimate or even black market, he turned to the grey market.

“He had researched how to steal diamonds, but not how to sell them,” said ACP B B Basiya. Nayka didn’t know the stones’ value and received “wildly different price quotes”, which confused him. Fearing exposure, he decided to wait until the case went cold.

He allegedly hid the diamonds in an abandoned factory and returned to Umarpada.

Hunting the paper trail

“With no CCTV and no phone usage by Nayka, we had to explore other tactics,” said an officer. Investigators began tracing sellers of the specialized cutting tools used in the heist.

“There are four firms selling the drill machines and six selling the variable spanners. Nayka bought both locally in Rajkot but paid in cash, without bills,” the officer said. This lack of documentation stalled progress once again.

These no-bill purchases, often done to evade taxes, are now under scrutiny. Local police are investigating retailers who sold tools to Nayka without invoices.

A teacher’s betrayal

“Stealing diamonds from reinforced safes requires expert-level precision using magnetic drills, cutters, and variable spanners,” said PI M R Gondaliya of the Crime Branch.

Police questioned 15 suspects previously involved in diamond heists, including three jailed for a 2023 case in Mahudi Taluka. All three were in the same Rajkot Central Jail barracks as Nayka, during his 2024 imprisonment for a house break-in.

Rajkot Central Jail — where Ajay Jagdish Lallu Nayka allegedly learned the art of diamond heists from fellow inmates. (Express Photo)

“These men told us Nayka had been very curious about their methods,” said PI Jadav. “He asked detailed questions about tools and techniques. They unknowingly trained him.”

Already familiar with fabrication tools, Nayka allegedly combined this jailhouse knowledge with YouTube tutorials to sharpen his skills.

With Nayka’s arrest and recovery of the hidden diamonds, the case has now been transferred to the Bhaktinagar police station for further investigation.