Diamond traders and jewellers panic as top 'Angadia' vanishes

MUMBAI: Anxiety gripped India’s diamond and few other traders after jewellers and firms in Mumbai’s famous Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) discovered that one of the leading angadias – the traditional cash and diamond couriers –has allegedly absconded.

The angadia, who has an office in the BDB , shuttered it on Wednesday noon , well before normal closing hours, and has been incommunicado since, said diamond market sources. Unconfirmed rumours among trade sources abounded that his alleged disappearance was due to property deals gone wrong amid the Covid -induced slowdown .

BDB president Anoop Mehta said he was trying to “ascertain” the cause for “an” angadia being incommunicable , but added that it was unlikely to be related to the diamond trade . He clarified that angadias used by BDB members were only for transporting diamonds accompanied by “all the” relevant documentation .

The angadias, around for the past five decades , are extremely trusted entities who ferry rough diamond parcels from Mumbai to Surat for cutting and polishing . Once polished , they ferry back the consignment to Mumbai . In the bargain they earn a small fee .

Diamantaires said that the angadia was active in the BDB until Wednesday noon . But it is not clear whether he had any pending consignments either to or from Mumbai . Most consignments though small in size are extremely valuable.

The diamonds are carried by angadias in small leather punches , called 'petikas', which are insured and carry relevant documentation related to the consignment . Some angadias also handle cash for real estate business and other trades . They tend to travel in groups on train for protection.

According to market estimates, few hundred crores could be at stake.

A couple of years ago the angadia in question went bankrupt , and resumed activity on a much smaller scale , diamond market sources said. .

Among the dozen or so angadias used by the trade , he is now a mid- level operator who shuttles diamantaires’ roughs from Mumbai to their Surat factories , which cut and polish them . He also gets back the polished consignments from Surat to Mumbai . The railways is the mode of transport .

Another diamantaire from BDB said he’d heard of the angadia having “depression” owing to “financial worries “ but he didn’t elaborate on the nature of the distress .

Angadias in the diamond trade are analogous to the “dabbawallas” of Mumbai , who are known for their efficiency , timeliness and trust , explained a merchant . For diamantaires , they are the most efficient and cheapest source of transporting consignments to and from Mumbai and Gujarat.

Never in the five decades of their operation has there ever been a recorded “runaway” or any deceitful activity by the Angadias who are traditionally from Surat . Given this context, the present disappearance of the angadia has caused consternation among diamantaires .

India imports rough diamonds worth $16 bn and exports polished worth around $21 bn each year .