Surat Vault Owners Arrested for Theft of Rs 2.67 Crore Gold to Cover Trading Losses
The Surat police on Tuesday night arrested the owners of a private safe deposit facility for allegedly stealing gold jewellery worth Rs 2.67 crore from the lockers of 15 customers. The accused reportedly committed the theft to repay heavy stock market losses.
Those arrested include facility owner Mahesh Diyora, his sons Harsh and Harikrishna, and Manilal Chauhan, a lock-breaking expert hired for the crime. Authorities recovered Rs 15 lakh in cash and a duplicate key maker during initial operations.
According to P M Chaudhary, Singanpor Police Inspector, the Diyora family was under severe financial pressure and conspired to break open customer lockers. The stolen gold was sold to local jewellers at approximately Rs 1.30 lakh per tola to clear their debts.
Chaudhary said, “There are around 700 lockers in Nakshatra Safe that are rented out to different people who had kept their jewellery and other valuables in them. The owners charge Rs 1,700 to Rs 2,000 depending on the size of the lockers.”
Police have verified the bank statements of Diyora and his sons and found that they had sold jewellery to seven to eight jewellers. Chaudhary added, “Diyora’s sons have lost Rs 3 crore in share trading business. The amount invested was taken on loan from a moneylender.”
The theft came to light when Ramesh Vaghani, a customer of Nakshatra Safe Vault, found two of his lockers broken on July 11 when he and his wife went to retrieve jewellery for an event. They noticed that other lockers were also broken. Vaghani had opened two lockers in the facility located at Singanpor in 2020 — one operated by him and the other by his wife — and paid a monthly fee of Rs 1,700 per locker. He lodged a police complaint on July 27 after unsatisfactory responses from the owners. Vaghani told police that when he and his wife checked the jewellery on May 8, it was intact.
The police have booked Diyora and his two sons for criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.
Demand for private safe lockers has increased in Surat, a city with a sizeable population of diamond merchants and jewellery businessmen. According to businessmen, private safe lockers open as early as 8 am and close at 8 pm, unlike banks that open at 11 am and close at 5 or 6 pm. “Another highlight is that such private players operate even on Sundays. The locker owner can also use it multiple times a day. While in banks, the locker owner can operate only once a day. The banks remain closed during holidays and on Sundays. Well-developed security arrangements have been laid in the lockers, including an emergency alarm,” said Kanji Bhalara, a safe vault owner in Surat.
