50-yr-old held for not returning friend's diamonds

The VP Road police have arrested a 50-year-old a man for allegedly duping his friend of diamonds worth Rs 39 lakh.

The arrested person has been identified as Vijay Navinchand Patni.

According to the police, the 42-year-old complainant Sameer Bharat Shah, a resident of Khetwadi in Girgaum, alleged that between June and August this year, he had given loose diamonds worth Rs 39 lakh to his friend Patni to sell it to customers.

"Shah had alleged that, though a long time had passed, Patni neither returned his diamond nor gave money in return for the diamonds. After waiting tirelessly, Shah finally decided to confront Patni and when he realised that Patni would not return the diamonds, Shah approached the police," said an officer from VP Road police station.

Police said that since Shah and Patni worked together in a diamond shop in south Mumbai, they became good friends. It is because of this trust that Shah had given the diamonds to Patni, police said.

"Both Shah and Patni were working in a diamond shop and had also started their own business of diamond trading. After Shah approached the police, his claims were probed. A case of criminal breach of trust and cheating has been registered against Patni and he was subsequently arrested. We have not recovered the diamonds yet and are probing further," said Sanjay Kamble, Senior police inspector, VP Road police station.