Mangaluru: A city-based jeweller, Arun Shet, has filed a complaint alleging that two men attempted to defraud him by offering fake diamonds along with forged certificates.
The first accused, Ashraf, visited Shet’s jewellery shop on October 7 around 11 am, showing a 3-carat diamond and claiming he wanted to sell it for Rs 18 lakh.
A week later, on October 14, Ashraf sent his distant relative, Mehaboob, to the shop. Mehaboob displayed a 2-carat diamond, claiming it was genuine and priced at Rs 6 lakh, accompanied by GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certificates to validate authenticity.
Upon testing, the jeweller discovered that both diamonds were actually CVD (lab-grown) stones and the GIA certificates were forged. The real market value of the stones was significantly lower — the 2-carat diamond was worth around Rs 50,000 and the 3-carat stone about Rs 1 lakh.
Following the complaint, the Mangaluru North police registered a case against the accused for creating fake documents and attempting to cheat by misrepresenting lab-grown diamonds as natural ones. Further investigation is ongoing.
