Surat Diamond Recession Fuels Crime Wave Among Jobless Polishers and Traders

Surat | Gujarat — The glitter of diamonds has faded sharply in Surat, and what is emerging instead is a disturbing rise in crime linked directly to the prolonged recession in the diamond industry. In just two days, Surat police busted two cases that starkly highlight how economic desperation is pushing former diamond workers and traders towards illegal activities for survival.

On January 10, the Special Operation Group (SOG) of Surat police arrested a 28-year-old diamond polisher, Paresh Hadiya, from Varachha with fake Indian currency notes worth ₹5 lakh. Once employed with a reputed diamond company, Hadiya had been unemployed for nearly a year after large-scale layoffs crippled the sector. According to police officials, he deliberately targeted crowded places such as vegetable markets, small roadside vendors and retail shops where fake notes could easily go unnoticed.

“This was not a one-off attempt. The accused had a clear strategy and was circulating fake currency in places where verification is difficult,” a senior SOG officer said, adding that unemployment was the primary trigger behind his involvement in the racket.

Barely a day later, on January 11, the Surat Crime Branch exposed another grim fallout of the industry slowdown. Police raided a rented house in Prabhunagar-2 near Katargam Darwaza and arrested former diamond trader Nitesh Khambhadia, 43, with 53 grams of suspected MD narcotics worth ₹48,410. Khambhadia, originally from Bhavnagar, had exited the diamond trade after mounting losses during the recession and allegedly turned to drug peddling as an alternative source of income.

Crime Branch officials revealed that Khambhadia had built a network of nearly 300 customers and sold MD drugs in zipper packets, pricing each gram at ₹3,000. “He was no longer able to sustain himself in the diamond business. That vacuum was filled by crime,” an investigating officer said. During the search, police recovered around 45 zipper pouches of the banned substance from his possession.

Bhavesh Tank, vice-president of Diamond Workers’ Union Gujarat (DWUG) said, “More than 66 diamond polishers in Surat have committed suicide in the last one-and-a-half-year. Due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the US tariffs on Indian goods, the situation of small workers, traders and manufacturers has turned from bad to worse”

Tank added, “Many small units with 10 to 15 emery wheels have shut shops, rendering hundreds of diamond workers jobless. Those who are not finding jobs are either opening their own business or turning to the dark dark streets of crime”

Police officials and industry insiders stress that these are not isolated incidents. Surat, the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing centre, has been battling one of its worst downturns in decades. With global demand shrinking, inventories piling up and thousands of units either shutting down or operating at minimal capacity, an estimated tens of thousands of workers have lost jobs or seen drastic wage cuts over the last two years.

“Economic distress often translates into social distress. When skilled workers are pushed out without safety nets, crime becomes an unfortunate outlet for some,” a senior Surat police officer said, warning that such cases may rise if the slowdown continues.

DWUG has repeatedly urged state and central governments to intervene with relief packages, credit support and employment measures. Until meaningful revival takes place, Surat’s diamond city risks seeing more lives slip from precision craftsmanship into the shadows of crime.