The main gate of the premises gave the first clue. The iron gates had not suffered any damage, hinting that the entry was friendly. Then, there was the safe from which diamonds worth several crores were allegedly stolen. Though the door of the safe showed that a gas cutter was used to break it open, the insides were squeaky clean without any soot marks or damage to the goods stored. Police were convinced that the alleged diamond heist worth over Rs 25 crore from a Surat firm's building over the extended Independence Day weekend was an insider's job. This was when they decided to question the owner of DK Sons, Devendra Chaudhary, more thoroughly following which it came to light that the alleged theft was planned by him to gain the insurance amount of Rs 20 crore, said police. While Chaudhary (48), his son Ishan (22), and driver Vikash Bishnoi were held on Tuesday, another accomplice, Ramjivan Bishnoi (36), was arrested on Wednesday. Both Ramjivan and Vikash are natives of Barmer district in Rajasthan. Talking to The Indian Express, Kapodara Police Inspector M B Asura said, “On reaching the spot, we checked the main iron gate and found there was no forceful entry. If the main gate lock was broken, there would have been marks. It was clear the miscreants opened the gate with keys and entered the diamond factory. The fourth-floor main office door (where the metal safe was kept) was found open, and there were no marks of forceful entry here as well. The miscreants did not enter any of the lower floors of the building.” On the condition of the safe, he said, “Had a gas flame been used to make a hole in the metal safe before it was open, black carbon should have reached deep inside its walls. But when we checked the safe, we found the inside layer quite clean. This showed that the safe door was opened first and then a hole was made.” There were a number of other factors that did not quite add up. “The fire safety alarm on this floor was not functioning. The complainant also claimed that he found diamonds worth Rs 19 lakh inside the safe. Why would a thief leave them behind, as claimed by the owner?” said the inspector. Police sent the contents of the safe for testing and found that all that they contained were broken glass pieces, lab-grown diamonds, and waste particles. “The owner's claim of diamonds worth Rs 19 lakh also turned out to be false. Besides, the accused could not present the stock of the diamonds worth Rs 32.53 crore as claimed. All these things had led us to suspect the complainant,” sais Asura. Police said the accused had let go of his security guard last month with the intention to make the police suspect him. “He had hatched this entire conspiracy to get the claim insurance. He had bought insurance from a private company. His monthly premium was likely due on August 22. On August 12, he made an advance premium payment of around Rs 3.82 lakh to the insurance company, citing the upcoming holidays and an impending tour. He had made this advance payment to get full maturity,” said Asura. Police then checked Chaudhary's financial status after talking to other diamond merchants and his friends and found that he was under a debt of Rs 10 crore and had loans and mortgage to the tune of Rs 13 crore. With the insurance amount of Rs 20 crore in, he would have been able to pay off all these debts.” Surat police commissioner Anupam Sinh Gahlaut said, “The accused had first taken his driver Vikash into confidence and involved him in the fabricated theft conspiracy. Through Vikash, he came in contact with one Hanuman Bishnoi of Barmer district, who had invited Bhagirath Bishnoi, Ramjivan and others to commit theft at the diamond factory. The statements of the auto driver (on which the miscreants had allegedly arrived) also helped us in the probe. The firm owner had assured Hanuman that he would give him Rs 20 lakh for this theft work and had even made a part payment of Rs 5 lakh.” Gahlaut further said, “Chaudhary had planned to send his driver Vikash to Dubai and booked his ticket for August 19. The motive was to ensure the police do not question him.” Police sources said that five more accused, including Hanuman, are still absconding. Police have booked the nine accused on charges of misguiding the police officials, making forged documents, and hatching a criminal conspiracy.
