A DIAMOND manufacturer in Surat’s Varachha – Marutinandan Diamonds – shut down its unit and the owner has allegedly fled without paying workers’ salaries, amounting to nearly Rs 14.50 lakh, even as Diwali is round the corner, police said on Friday.

On Thursday, the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat (DWUG) submitted an application at the Ashwani Kumar police station in Surat city, requesting the police to register a cheating offence against the firm owner, Kiritbhai Vagadiya.

Sources said on Friday that Vagadiya has been running the diamond cutting and polishing unit for the past two years. It is involved in cutting and polishing natural and lab-grown diamonds. Over 50 employees work at the unit across different departments, the sources added.

Earlier this month, the owner shut down the unit, allegedly without paying two months’ pending salaries to the employees, switched off his mobile phone and has been “untraceable” since.…