Mumbai:
It happened in the blink of an eye. Six men held a diamond firm's manager at gunpoint and fled with diamonds worth Rs 80 lakh. The heist took place on Ganesh Temple Road in Malad (E) around 3 pm on Sunday.
The manager, Deepak Lalwani (40), was on his way to the jewellery designer's in Borivali with the precious stones in an Innova. A Maruti Zen with a beacon light screeched to a halt in front of his Innova and six suited men marched towards Lalwani's car.
"They introduced themselves as Income Tax officials, and told me to open my bag," said Lalwani, adding that he thought they wanted to search him possibly on a false tip-off.
"The next thing one of them did was to whip out a revolver and grab the diamonds and then they fled," Lalwani added.
This is the third diamond heist in as many months.
Lalwani, who was carrying his licensed handgun, said, "I could have opened fire in self-defence, but I hesitated as I thought they were genuine Income Tax officers," he told MiD DAY.
Genuine I-T men?
What lent credence to Lalwani's belief was that one of the assailants confirmed to him the name of his employer - Nitin Dhava.
The Maruti Zen in which the robbers fled was later found abandoned on the Western Express Highway near Borivali.
"We have lodged a complaint of kidnap and robbery. A manhunt has been launched for the suspects. Sketches have been prepared based on Lalwani's description," said a senior officer of Dindoshi police station.
The police suspect some insider had tipped off the assailants.