Ahmedabad, Aug 17 (IANS) A joint operation by Botad district and Ahmedabad Rural police led to the recovery of diamonds worth Rs 43.11 lakh within about seven hours of a theft at Botad’s Neelam Diamond Market, after investigators traced the suspects from CCTV footage to a local train and intercepted them at Bavla railway station.

Police said approximately 1,437 carats of finished diamonds were stolen from the office of diamond trader Ashokbhai Kankotiya at Neelam Shopping Centre on Sunday afternoon.

Police subsequently apprehended three accused in Bavla and found a total of 1,885.75 carats of diamonds in their possession. Police said they are investigating the additional quantity.

The theft took place between 1:09 p.m. and 1:23 p.m. on August 16, when most shops in the complex were closed because of the Sunday holiday.

According to the police, a woman dressed as a beggar entered the office through the rear entrance at around 1:09 p.m. and was captured on CCTV leaving 14 minutes later with a packet.

Kankotiya, 57, who deals in finished diamonds with his partner Rasikbhai, later reported that the lock of a table drawer had been opened and packets and bags containing around 1,437 carats of single finished diamonds had been taken.

The diamonds were valued at Rs 3,000 per carat, putting the total value of the stolen property at Rs 43,11,000.

A case was registered at Botad Town Police Station under Sections 305(a) and 331(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, at 9:47 p.m. on Sunday.

Investigators followed the suspect through CCTV footage and traced the autorickshaw she had travelled in.

The driver told police that he had dropped her near Khodiyarnagar, a settlement close to the railway tracks. By the time police reached the location, the suspected family had locked its hut and left.

Further questioning of another autorickshaw driver established that two women, two men and a child had been taken to Botad railway station at around 4:31 p.m.

CCTV footage from the station, screened with the assistance of the Railway Protection Force, showed the suspects boarding the 5 p.m. Botad-Ahmedabad local train with luggage, cloth bundles and blue bags.

Police then used railway technical assistance to track the train in real time. The train had crossed Koth station and was heading towards Dholka and Bavla in Ahmedabad Rural district.

Once it became clear that the suspects were leaving Botad district, Botad Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Sharma contacted Ahmedabad Rural Superintendent of Police Omprakash Jat directly.

Ahmedabad Rural police immediately deployed teams at Bavla. Botad LCB Inspector G.M. Pavra shared live photographs and videos of the suspects, their clothing and other identifying features with Ahmedabad Rural LCB Inspector R.N. Karmatiya.

Details including the woman’s saffron kurti, leggings, red floral-patterned dupatta and limping gait, descriptions of the two men, blue bags and the likely train coach were relayed to field personnel through WhatsApp.

The Ahmedabad Rural teams then coordinated with the RPF to establish a cordon at Bavla railway station before the train arrived.

At around 8:30 p.m., when the Botad-Ahmedabad train entered Bavla station, police checked the coaches. The woman and two men matching the descriptions were seen getting off the second-to-last coach with bags and bundles and heading toward the exit.

Police stopped the three without causing panic among other passengers. Police said the suspects initially denied involvement in the theft.

A search conducted in the presence of independent witnesses, however, led to the recovery of a leather wallet hidden beneath clothes and quilts in the woman’s bag. Police found plastic zip-lock bags and 14 paper packets containing diamonds inside.

A local jeweller, Jignesh Soni of Mahavir Jewellers in Bavla, was called to assist with the weighing and verification. The seized diamonds weighed 1,885.75 carats in total.

The complainant and his partner subsequently identified approximately 1,437 carats as the diamonds stolen from Botad, valued at Rs 43.11 lakh, giving police a 100 per cent recovery of the reported stolen property.

Police identified the accused as Bachubhai Sadmiya, 55, a labourer from Kalawad in Jamnagar district; Vinabhai Dhirubhai alias Dharubhai Devshibhai Chauhan, 30, of Khodiyarnagar-2 in Botad; and Sapanaben, 31, daughter of Bachubhai Sadmiya, also from Kalawad.

Police said CCTV footage showed Sapanaben as the woman allegedly involved in the theft. Police said they recovered Rs 4,000 in cash from Bachubhai, while they recovered Rs 180 and a mobile phone from Vinabhai.

The total seized property was valued at Rs 43,17,180, comprising the stolen diamonds valued at Rs 43,11,000, a mobile valued at Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,180 in cash.

Police seized the diamonds under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

Police detained the two male accused at 10:50 p.m. on August 16 under Section 35(1)(e) of the BNSS, while the woman was rounded up in accordance with the legal provisions applicable during night hours.

Further legal proceedings have been initiated. Police records show previous cases against Bachubhai in Morbi Taluka, including cases under Sections 269 and 188 of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Prohibition Act.

Sapanaben has previous cases registered at Jetpur City under IPC Sections 380 and 454 and at Kalawad under BNS Sections 305(a), 331(3) and 331(4).

The investigation remains underway, particularly into the additional diamonds recovered from the accused and whether others were involved.

–IANS

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