Kollam: Like in a fairy tale, a housewife from Eravipuram got a diamond in the form of a so-called “treasure” after a family temple inside their compound was demolished. Divinity was attributed to the stone and it was worshipped for several months at her home. But it landed in the hands of swindlers when the family tried to sell it.
A team of eight approached Sindhu (60) of Puthen Nada in Eravipuram, and told her they were diamond merchants. They pretended they were examining its quality and fled with the stone. Following a complaint, the Eravipuram police arrested Savio John of Neendakara, the middle man who had arranged a deal for the stone. A car the team had come in was also seized
Once the family decided to sell the diamond, Sindhu’s son Chandu (30), got it tested at a laboratory named UGI International in Kochi. A certificate was issued for the diamond identifying it as ‘rough natural diamond’ with a trace of silicon dioxide in it.
“Chandu approached a middleman, Savio John, to sell the stone. A team including Vipin and Vishnu of Neendakara contacted Chandu as told by Savio, to fix the deal. Six others from Kochi joined them and inspected the stone at Sindhu’s house. They went to the house thrice and on the fourth time, made away with the stone,” said Eravipuram CI V.S. Pradeep Kumar.
The team had agreed upon a deal for Rs 8 cr and went to the house for testing the quality of the stone. On the fourth day, the team tried to escape in a car, but was blocked by Chandu as he managed to get the keys of the car. They, however, escaped and Savio ended up in a fight with Chandu. He was later handed over to the police.
