In a gesture of gratitude, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), today felicitated Himanshu Pandey, the Area Commandant, and A.K. Nag, the Deputy Commandant, of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for having tracked down arresting a pair of thieves who had stolen a 5.4-carat diamond from this year’s India International Jewellery Show (IIJS).
The thieves were arrested at Mumbai airport just minutes before they boarded a flight to Osaka via Delhi and Hong Kong.
The CISF had also in 2010, tracked down thieves who had stolen diamonds and jewellery from the IIJS and ensured their arrest in Dubai. To date, no thief has got away with anything from the IIJS show.
GJEPC Chairman Praveenshankar Pandya said at the event, held at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) that while the IIJS is today the fifth-largest trade show of its kind in the world, it lacks a proper international venue and the current location with its temporary structures, presents major issues as far as security and policing are concerned. “Despite all the issues, the responsibility for security sits squarely on the shoulders of the CISF, who have always provided us with uncompromising security while also trying to make it easier for regular show visitors and exhibitors to access the show.”
Pandya added, “We want to improve the system and we are working with the CISF towards this.”
Commandant Pandey, in his comments, said, “India is not an easy place to provide security. But we have worked toward simplifying the system at the IIJS, while at the same time exponentially increasing the use of technology, particularly video surveillance, at the venue.”
He added, “The CISF has been associated with the IIJS and the IIJS Signature shows for about a decade now, and it is an honour for us that we were entrusted with the security of this high-value show.” He pointed out that the CISF provides security in a variety of situations all around India, even protecting monuments like the Taj Mahal and Delhi’s Red Fort.
Referring to the the IIJS robbery, Pandey said that success had come about in great measure due to the quick action and immediate cooperation of a variety of different agencies including show management.
“The security threat is ever evolving and we evolve our technology and techniques to match the threat. Today, one of the biggest problems with security is the ever-increasing involvement of insiders in the perpetration of a crime. They are improvising all the time. We are improvising all the time too,” he said.
The Commandant told media persons that he was very proud that the two heists that had taken place at the IIJS on the CISF’s watch had both been solved. “While we got the thieves involved in the 2010 robbery in Dubai, we are extra happy that we got this year’s crooks in Mumbai itself!”
https://www.gemkonnect.com/news/gjepc-thanks-cisf-nabbing-iijs-diamond-crooks