Two cops among four held for robbery of diamonds in Mumbai

Four persons, including two police constables, have been arrested in connection with the robbery of diamonds worth about Rs 24 lakh from a jewellery shop in Mumbai.

A middleman, identified as Raj, set up a deal for a jeweller from suburban Borivali to buy diamonds from a Gujarat-based businessman, a police official said. The businessman went to the jeweller's shop in Borivali on Wednesday evening where Raj and the latter's two friends, including a woman, were already present, he said.

As soon as Raj initiated the deal, two policemen arrived there and told them that they had information about an illegal transaction being done, he said. The constables, attached to the office of the Mumbai police comissionerate, seized the diamonds and then took the jeweller and Raj along in their police van.

Later, the policemen dropped the jeweller and Raj midway and asked them to reach south Mumbai's Crawford market in the evening with proper documents of the diamonds for verification, the official said.

They also told the duo to bring the businessman along with them, he said.

Sensing something amiss, the jeweller in the meantime informed about the matter to the Borivali police and lodged a case, he said. The police identified the two constables from the CCTV footage of the jewellery shop and arrested them yesterday, the official said.

Besides the constables, the police also nabbed the two friends of Raj, he said. The official said a search was on for Raj, who is
absconding.

The accused have been booked under IPC section 395 (punishment for dacoity), he said adding that an investigation into the case is on.