The video of some people in Varachha, Surat, looking for diamonds on the road is viral online a false claim that diamond merchants in the area, troubled by an economic downturn, threw their diamonds on the street.
BOOM found that the claims are false and the video shows people scouting for the precious stones after rumours of an unidentified merchant dropping diamonds on the street began circulating in the area.
The viral clip shows people looking for diamonds strewn on the streets and the person recording the video is heard talking about how a recession has led to diamond traders in Mini Bazaar throwing their diamonds on the road. "This is the condition of our diamond traders. Please take care," the person is heard saying.
The Surat diamond market, which houses half a million diamond workers, is responsible for supplying up to 90 percent of the world's cut and polished diamonds used in jewellery and for loose selling. Western sanctions on Russian miner Alrosa, which supplies a bulk of the rough diamonds to Surat along with a decrease in the demand for polished diamonds in the international market have negatively impacted the diamond market in Surat.
The video from Varachha, Surat, is circulating in this context.
A post on X (formerly Twitter) reads, "Troubled by the terrible recession in Surat, diamond traders threw diamonds on the road, this is also beyond imagination but it is possible only because Modi is there."
(Original text in Hindi: "सूरत मे भयानक मंदी से परेशान हीरा व्यापारियों ने हीरे रास्ते मे फेक दिये ,ये भी कल्पना के परे हे पर मोदी हे तभी तो मुमकिन हे")
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the video has been shared with misleading claims; people in the area began looking for diamonds after rumours about a merchant mistakenly dropping a pack of the jewels on the street began circulating.
A keyword search of the incident led us to a report published by Ahmedabad Mirror on September 25, 2023 with the headline, 'Heartless Prank? Surtis Search Streets For Lost Diamonds'
According to the story, the incident took place in Mini Bazaar, located in the Varachha area of Surat. A rumour began circulating about a merchant dropping a pack of diamonds on the road, following which, people in the area began sifting through the dust on the street in search of the jewels. A person present at the scene told Ahmedabad Mirror that a man found a diamond, but it turned out to be a fake one.
BOOM then reached out to Varachha Police Station's PI (Police Inspector) Alpesh Gabani, who confirmed that the claims were false. While explaining the incident, he said, "Somebody dropped a bag of American diamonds (fake stones used in embroidery and imitation jewellery) on the street, following which the rumours started circulating. After this, people began looking for the diamonds on the street."
Gabani also confirmed that this incident was not related to the crisis in the diamond market.