Golconda Diamond
A protracted legal dispute involving a 32-carat Golconda diamond, which was finally resolved in a city court last week, had all the makings of a classic mystery: a heist at gunpoint, unsuccessful police searches, and a cunning hiding spot, practically in plain sight. Even the judge, who gave the jewel to its owner last week, couldn’t help but compare it to the ‘Joy Baba Felunath’ song from the Feluda classic. Diamond robbery case is no less than a suspense movie directed by a top Bollywood director.
Sorry for the spoiler, but the priceless object in the Satyajit Ray classic was kept within the lion’s mouth of a Durga idol. Here, the thief concealed the diamond, which is currently worth about Rs 15 crore, inside a switchboard underneath a stairway.
Bollywood movie-like action Sequence
When the diamond’s owner, Pranab Kumar Roy, a native of south Kolkata, was looking for a valuer for it in 2002, the crime took place. A diamond broker named Indrajit Tapadar visited Roy’s home with a valuer in June of that year. Roy later said that he had suspicions about the pair because of how they handled the diamond that was mounted on a gold ring and asked them to give it to him. Roy reported that Tapadar then produced a revolver and handed the other person the diamond. When Roy and Tapadar got into a fight, the latter’s companion leaped on Roy and pinned him to the ground. Roy had told the police that the pair then took off with the diamond.
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Diamond robbery case…
Indrajit Tapadar, who was accused in the diamond robbery case, was quickly located by the police who were looking into the case. Even though they had a gut feeling that the stone was in his house, despite their best efforts, they were unable to locate it.
They eventually located the stone, carefully stowed away inside the switchboard hollow beneath a meter box under a stairway, just as even the most persistent among them were about to give up. Every time they entered to search, the police drove by the area, but nobody thought to look there.
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The diamond robbery case seems more of a fictional story
Judge Ananda Sankar Mukhopadhyay compared the way it all transpired to “Joy Baba Felunath” because of how the diamond was eventually found. Even Tapadar’s attorney acknowledged that there was uncertainty surrounding the diamond’s retrieval.
The trial court granted Pranab Kumar Roy permission to retain custody of the diamond under the condition that he could not change its nature or character. In addition, Roy was had to post a 2 crore rupee bond with the court. Tapadar filed an appeal after the trial court found him guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison. The case went forward, and the accused filed a number of petitions. In its ruling from last week, the city sessions court maintained the conviction of Tapadar by the lower court.
Golconda diamond
According to Shubadip Roy, a designated partner of Bengal Jewellery and a diamond aficionado, a 32-carat Golconda diamond is a rare gem and a premium diamond. “Golconda is reputed to be among the world’s oldest mines. Golconda is the source of famous diamonds like the Koh-i-Noor and the Shah Jahan diamond, he claimed.
