MAY 2: Marilyn Monroe said they were a girl's best friend but for Sheetal and Sharan Mehta, glamour was the last thing on their scheming minds. After posing as diamond traders for 18 months, the couple and an associate, Ruchi Sharma, have vanished with gemstones worth more than Rs 20 crore.Taking advantage of the lull in the diamond trade, the tricksters pretended to bring back the lost sparkle by offering hard currency for every purchase. Operating from an office taken on leave and licence at Pancharatna building at Opera House, the trio worked hard at gaining the traders' confidence. After a short while, they began to make purchases against credit but always honoured their payments. Soon, the Mehtas were the hottest `diamond traders' on the bourse.One trader says the trio even switched to the jangad system, where credit is extended up to two months. Even then, the Mehtas honoured their payments. The ploy had worked and most traders at Pancharatna building had begun to trust the three accused, said an officer at the Economic Offences Wing of the city police.But soon it was time to make their move. In February this year, the trio began collecting an assortment of diamonds against credit, saying they had located some big overseas buyers who were in Delhi. Unable to resist the temptation, several traders entrusted their diamonds to the Mehtas in the hope that their samples would be approved by the buyers. But it was too late and the trio disappeared without a trace.The matter was reported to the police recently after diamond merchant Sanjay Shah along and other traders complained that the three suspects had been missing since February.The Economic Offences Wing says an offence has been registered against all three accused and Sharma on charges of criminal breach of trust.
