Ahmedabad, August 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Gujarat Police recovered diamonds worth Rs 43.11 lakh within about seven hours of a theft at Botad’s Neelam Diamond Market, tracing the suspects through CCTV footage and railway surveillance before intercepting them at Bavla railway station.
The joint operation by Botad district and Ahmedabad Rural police followed the theft of approximately 1,437 carats of finished diamonds from the office of diamond trader Ashokbhai Kankotiya at Neelam Shopping Centre on August 16.
According to police, the theft took place between 1:09 p.m. and 1:23 p.m., when most shops in the complex were closed for the Sunday holiday. A woman dressed as a beggar allegedly entered the office through the rear entrance and was captured on CCTV leaving 14 minutes later with a packet.
Kankotiya, 57, later reported that the lock of a table drawer had been opened and packets and bags containing around 1,437 carats of finished diamonds had been stolen. The diamonds were valued at Rs 3,000 per carat, putting the total loss at Rs 43.11 lakh.
A case was registered at Botad Town Police Station at 9:47 p.m. under Sections 305(a) and 331(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Investigators first traced the woman through CCTV and identified the autorickshaw in which she had travelled. The driver told police that he had dropped her near Khodiyarnagar, close to the railway tracks. Police later learnt from another autorickshaw driver that two women, two men and a child had travelled to Botad railway station around 4:31 p.m.
CCTV footage from the station, examined with the assistance of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), showed the suspects boarding the 5 p.m. Botad-Ahmedabad local train carrying luggage, cloth bundles and blue bags.
Using railway technical assistance, police tracked the train as it crossed Koth and headed towards Dholka and Bavla in Ahmedabad Rural district. Botad Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Sharma contacted Ahmedabad Rural SP Omprakash Jat, following which teams were deployed at Bavla.
Botad LCB Inspector G.M. Pavra shared photographs, videos and identifying details of the suspects with Ahmedabad Rural LCB Inspector R.N. Karmatiya. Police circulated details including the woman’s saffron kurti, leggings, red floral-patterned dupatta and limping gait, along with descriptions of the two men, their bags and the likely coach.
At around 8:30 p.m., police and RPF personnel intercepted the suspects when the train reached Bavla. The woman and two men matching the descriptions were seen alighting from the second-last coach and heading towards the exit.
During a search conducted in the presence of independent witnesses, police allegedly recovered a leather wallet concealed beneath clothes and quilts inside the woman’s bag. It contained plastic zip-lock bags and 14 paper packets of diamonds.
A local jeweller, Jignesh Soni of Mahavir Jewellers, Bavla, assisted police in weighing and verifying the diamonds. The total seized quantity was 1,885.75 carats. The complainant and his partner identified around 1,437 carats as the diamonds stolen from Botad, resulting in the complete recovery of the reported stolen property.
Police identified the accused as Bachubhai Sadmiya, 55, a labourer from Kalawad in Jamnagar district; Vinabhai Dhirubhai alias Dharubhai Devshibhai Chauhan, 30, of Khodiyarnagar-2 in Botad; and Sapanaben, 31, daughter of Bachubhai Sadmiya, also from Kalawad.
Police said CCTV footage showed Sapanaben as the woman allegedly involved in the theft. They also recovered Rs 4,000 in cash from Bachubhai and Rs 180 and a mobile phone from Vinabhai.
The total seized property was valued at Rs 43,17,180, including the stolen diamonds worth Rs 43.11 lakh, a mobile phone valued at Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,180 in cash.
The diamonds were seized under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. Police detained the two male accused at 10:50 p.m. on August 16 under Section 35(1)(e) of the BNSS, while the woman was detained in accordance with legal provisions applicable during night hours.
Further investigation is underway, particularly into the additional diamonds recovered from the accused and the possible involvement of other persons.
Police records also show previous cases against Bachubhai in Morbi Taluka, while Sapanaben has previous cases registered in Jetpur City and Kalawad.
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