Diamond theft worth Rs 60L cracked after 45 days, accused nabbed

Time of India

6 days ago

Rajkot: It had all the makings of a crime thriller — a shadowy figure, buried loot, and a Bollywood-style mask — the Rs 60-lakh diamond theft that had Rajkot police chasing shadows for 45 days was no work of fiction.
The accused, Ajay Nayaka, executed the meticulously planned heist using silence and precision, before finally being tracked down through technical surveillance.
The burglary was reported on the night of April 10 at a diamond polishing unit located on Kothariya Road. A complaint filed at the Bhaktinagar police station stated that an unidentified person had broken into the unit and escaped with diamonds worth Rs 60 lakh, along with the CCTV cameras and their recordings.
During the investigation, the police recovered the stolen diamonds, which had been buried in a pit near a factory in Rajkot. A search of Nayaka's premises also led to the discovery of a face-covering mask, similar to those used in cinematic heists. However, the police stated they have no footage proving that the mask was used during the crime.
Addressing the media, Parthrajsinh Gohil, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said, "We identified Nayaka using technical surveillance and by studying his previous crime patterns.
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He accessed the diamond locker using cutting tools, and surveillance footage from nearby confirmed his presence in the area on the day of the theft."
Sources described Nayaka as a clever and calculated criminal. He reportedly used the central road divider to avoid being captured by building-mounted security cameras, which typically cover only one side of the road. On the day of the theft, he was not carrying any drilling machines or gas cutters to avoid drawing suspicion in case he was recorded on camera.
Instead, he had hidden the required tools near the factory a week prior to the break-in.
Chirag Jadav, police inspector of the Crime Branch, revealed that Nayaka obtained information about the diamond unit while serving time in Rajkot jail, where he met an inmate familiar with the premises.
Although Nayaka intended to sell the stolen diamonds in the market, he was unable to do so due to the aggressive and ongoing police investigation. According to police records, Nayaka has been booked in approximately 20 offences over the last decade, most of which were committed in Rajkot city and district.