‘Real Diamonds’ Thrown on the Streets in Gujarat? No, Viral Claims Are False!

People were fooled in Surat, Gujarat by a rumour about real diamonds. Some of the found fake American diamonds.

Fact-check: The claim stating that a diamond trader threw real diamonds on the streets of Surat, Gujarat is false.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video showing a crowd looking for 'real diamonds' thrown on the streets is going viral on the internet.

• The claim states that a diamond merchant based in Surat, Gujarat was troubled by the 'dire state of diamond industry' which made him throw away real diamonds on the road.

Who shared this?: Along with several social media users, Gujarat MLA and Congress candidate Jignesh Mevani also shared this claim.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

Were real diamonds thrown on the streets?: No, this was a rumour which fooled the locals of Surat.

• According to the police, a bag of artificial (American) diamonds was thrown on the street and no real diamond was found.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a relevant keyword search on Google and came across a few news reports about this incident.

• Reports shared by NDTV, The Free Press Journal and Ahmedabad Mirror stated that as the rumours about somebody dropping a bag of real diamonds in Surat's Varaccha started spreading, several people gathered and started looking for it.

• It stated that this incident happened on 24 September.

• The reports also mentioned that one of those searching the street for diamonds said that a man found a fake diamond, most likely an American diamond but not a real one.

This report can be seen here.

(Source: NDTV/Screenshot)

Statement from the police: We reached out to Police Inspector of Varachha police station, Alpesh Gabani, who confirmed to us that this claim is false.

• "This rumour spread really fast in the area. One or two fake diamonds were found on the streets but no real diamonds were found anywhere. Somebody probably dropped some American diamonds on their way," he added.

Conclusion: Clearly, the claim stating that a diamond trader threw real diamonds on the streets of Surat, Gujarat is false.

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