Editing Koh-i-Noor (section)

=== In Maharaja Ranjit Singh's possession ===
[[File:Maharaja Ranjit singh's treasure.jpg|thumb|upright|One of Ranjit Singh's favourite horses with the head of his stables. His jewels are shown, to scale, including the Koh-i-Noor (top centre).<ref>Eden, p. 14.</ref>|left]][[Ranjit Singh]] had the diamond examined by jewelers of Lahore for two days to ensure that Shuja had not tricked him. After the jewelers confirmed its genuineness, he donated 125,000 rupees to Shuja. Ranjit Singh then asked the principal jewelers of [[Amritsar]] to estimate the diamond's value; the jewelers declared that the value of the diamond was "far beyond all computation".{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=83}} Ranjit Singh then affixed the diamond to the front of his turban, and paraded on an elephant to enable his subjects to see it.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|pp=83–84}} He used to wear it as an armlet during major festivals such as [[Diwali]] and [[Dusserah]], and took it with him during travel. He would exhibit it to prominent visitors, especially British officers.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=84}}

[[File:RanjitSingh by ManuSaluja.jpg|thumb|upright|Painting of Ranjit Singh wearing the Koh-i-Noor armlet (2009)]]

One day, Ranjit Singh asked the diamond's former owners – Shuja and his wife Wafa Begum – to estimate its value. Wafa Begum replied that if a strong man threw a stone in four cardinal directions and vertically, Koh-i-Noor would be worth more than the gold and precious stones filled in the space. Ranjit Singh grew paranoid about the Koh-i-Noor being stolen, because in the past, another valuable jewel had been stolen from him while he was intoxicated. He kept the diamond within a high-security facility at the [[Gobindgarh Fort]] when it was not in use. When the diamond was to be transported, it was placed in a [[pannier]] on a guarded camel; 39 other camels with identical panniers were included in the convoy; the diamond was always placed on the first camel immediately behind the guards, but great secrecy was maintained regarding which camel carried it.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=84}} Only Ranjit Singh's treasurer Misr Beli Ram knew which camel carried the diamond.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=106}}

In June 1839, Ranjit Singh suffered his third [[stroke]], and it became apparent that he would die soon. On his deathbed, he started giving away his valuable possessions to religious charities, and appointed his eldest son [[Kharak Singh]] as his successor. A day before his death, on 26 June 1839, a major argument broke out between his courtiers regarding the fate of Koh-i-Noor.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=91}} Ranjit Singh himself was too weak to speak, and communicated using gestures. Bhai Gobind Ram, the head [[Brahmin]] of Ranjit Singh, insisted that the king had willed Koh-i-Noor and other jewels to the [[Jagannath Temple, Puri]]: the king apparently supported this claim through gestures, as recorded in his court chronicle ''Umdat ul-Tawarikh''.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|pp=91–92}} However, treasurer Beli Ram insisted that it was a state property rather than Ranjit Singh's personal property, and therefore, should be handed over to Kharak Singh.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=92}}

After Ranjit Singh's death, Beli Ram refused to send the diamond to the temple, and hid it in his vaults.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=107}} Meanwhile, Kharak Singh and [[vizier|wazir]] [[Dhian Singh]] also issued orders stating that the diamond should not be taken out of Lahore.{{sfn|Dalrymple|Anand|2017|p=108}}