Police say $3.4m Diamond "Theft" was Insurance Fraud
August 20, 25
(IDEX Online) - Police in Surat, India, say the reported theft of diamonds worth at least Rs 25 crore (USD 3.4m) was an insurance fraud.
They were called to DK & Sons Diamond Company on Monday morning (18 August), after an extended closure for the Janmashtami festival, and found the safe had been opened with gas cutting equipment.
A stock verification indicated a total of 112,487 carats had been stolen, plus Rs 5 crore (USD 575,000) in cash. The surveillance cameras and video recorder were also stolen or destroyed.
But police now say Devendra Kumar Chaudhary, the company's managing director, his son, and their driver staged the theft. They say the company faced mounting debts and had taken out an insurance policy eight days before the "theft".
"Chaudhary incurred a debt of Rs 20 crore," Alok Kumar, deputy Commissioner of police, told Times of India today (20 August).
"He paid a Rs 3.75 lakh (USD 4,520) insurance premium recently. Chaudhary stood to receive Rs 2 crore (USD 241,000) if his diamonds were lost outside the unit, but a far larger Rs 20 crore (USD 2,410,000) payout if the loss occurred within his office. So, he and his son conspired to get the diamonds stolen."
He said Chaudhary's statements were contradictory and aroused suspicions that the theft had been staged.
"He failed to produce the bills for the alleged stolen diamonds. During a thorough interrogation, he confessed to hatching a conspiracy and staging the theft," Kumar said.
Police yesterday (19 August) arrested the firm's owner Devendra Chaudhary, his elder son Piyush Chaudhary and his driver Vikash Bishnoi for conspiring to stage the theft fraudulently to claim insurance. Five other people are believed to have taken part in the "theft".
Videograb shows a hole cut into the safe at DK & Sons Diamond Company.