The Chairman of The Gem & Jewellery Council (GJEPC), Vipul Shah has said that the allegations against prominent diamond exporter Hari Krishna Exports are not based on thorough investigations. In a statement released to the media, Shah has said that the industry “condemns discriminatory practices in employment and trading, be it related to caste, creed or religion” and has pointed out that the G&J industry “is also one of the top employment generating industries in the country, which is owing to its fair recruitment policies”.

The statement adds that the GJEPC considers it unfair to jump to such hasty conclusions, wrongly accusing the company for actions that are tarnishing it’s reputation. It says that Harikrishna Exports is well acclaimed for works of philanthropy and well-being of humanity and is committed towards employee development since generations.

It may be recalled that media had reported the case of Zeeshan Ali, an applicant for a marketing job in the company who said he received a response stating that the firm only "hired non-Muslim candidates".  A senior company official subsequently clarified that there was no such discrimination in recruitment and that the email was a mistake sent by a HR trainee.