By IANS
Ahmedabad : C.P. Vanani, president of Surat Diamond Association (SDA), has been caught in a piquant situation since Tuesday. An Ahmedabad diamond trader has couriered him some valuables and disappeared.
Vanani’s office received a packet couriered from Ahmedabad. It contained gold jewellery, rough and polished diamonds and papers relating to a residential property, all valued between Rs.5 million and Rs.8 million.
The packet also contained a note from the sender, identified as Amrut Teja Prajapati, asking Vanani to settle Prajapati’s debts among 27 debtors.
Vanani told IANS on Thursday that in response to a bulletin sent out by the SDA asking Prajapati’s debtors to come and negotiate a settlement, many people turned up with claims.
“When we added up the claims, we found that the debts totalled more than Rs.55 million,” Vanani said. The SDA has decided to put Prajapati’s belongings in safe custody.
When the SDA sent a security person to lock Prajapati’s house, he was informed that the house had already been sold.
Vanani said it was not uncommon for traders to face hardships due to business fluctuations in the diamond industry.
He said police intervention has not been sought in the matter as “we hope, as on previous occasions, this matter can also be resolved.”
Vanani said going has been tough for the industry for the past one year because of sluggish demand. “We are hoping that the coming Dussehra and Diwali festivals will reverse the gloomy trend,” he said.