A noted jewellery merchant from Visakhapatnam, Mr Grandhi Manoj Kumar, 47, who was on a business trip to Jaipur and Mumbai, went missing from the Bengaluru Airport on Tuesday morning. He was reportedly carrying diamonds and gold ornaments worth more than Rs 3 crore. The incident came to light on Wednesday morning. Mr Kumar had left for Jaipur last Sunday to purchase jewellery and rea-ched Bengaluru on Monday evening.

He was supposed to fly to Mumbai on Tuesday morning for further purchases. Unable to contact him by Tuesday evening, Mr Kumar’s relatives reached Bengaluru and lodged a complaint with the Airport police. Highly-placed sources said that CCTV footage at the airport showed Mr Kumar had entered the airport on Tuesday morning but had not boarded the flight.

“We have not received any complaints in this regard from anyone,” said city police commissioner, J. Purnachandra Rao. Mr Kumar, who is very popular in the city’s social circles, is the managing partner of a shopping mall, V Square, and owner of Vaibhav Empire on Railway Station Road. A native of Eluru in West Godavari district, Mr Kumar came to Vizag 15 years back and started his jewellery business.