Police Accused of Switching $2.3m Diamond for a Fake
May 21, 25
(IDEX Online) - The victim of a violent $2.3m diamond robbery claims police handed him back a fake gem after arresting five suspects.
He says a gang stole the antique 17.44-carat gem after luring him to an hotel, attacking him and tying him to a chair, on 4 May.
The diamond trader, named by police as named as S Chandrasekhar, aged 56, from Chennai, southeastern India, subsequently accused police of switching the recovered diamond for a replica.
He has lodged a complaint with the Commissioner's Public Grievance Redressal Office.
According to a Times of India report, the genuine diamond was authenticated to Chandrasekhar's satisfaction by two appraisers at a police station.
But he claims the diamond that was presented to a court some days later, on 13 May, was a fake that had been deliberately made to resemble the original stone.
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