Panna labourers who mined diamond turn crorepatis

BHOPAL: Two days ahead of New Year, two labourers of Panna district in Madhya Pradesh received a gift turning them into crorepatis. A big diamond mined by the duo of Motilal and Raghuveer Prajapati almost two months ago fetched a price of Rs 2.55 crore in an auction held on Friday.



A Jhansi-based jeweller along with a BSP leader from Uttar Pradesh made a bid of Rs 6 lakh per carat, the highest, in the auction held in Panna. For the 42.9 carat diamond, the amount turned out to be about Rs 2.55 crore, said Santosh Singh, the diamond officer of Panna. He said the bidder deposited a cheque of 20% of the cost and the remaining amount will be paid within a month when he would take possession of the diamond.

“After deducting about 12% royalty and other taxes, the remaining amount would be transferred to the account of Prajapati,” the diamond officer said. It means the two labourers would share about Rs 2.30 crore. They made their fortune when they dug out one of the biggest diamonds in the history of Panna’s shallow diamond mines on October 9. Before that, the biggest 44.55 carat diamond was found in the shallow mines of Panna in 1961.



Completely clueless while carrying the precious stone to deposit it with the office of district diamond officer, the two labourers had said that they would repay their debts once they receive the money. On Friday, neither of them turned up during the auction. Later in the evening, they said they celebrated the moment again by offering prayers and distributing sweets.

“We can now educate our children,” they said. Raghuveer needed the money desperately to repay his debts, said Motilal.

“They will receive the sum within a month,” said the diamond officer while talking to TOI. Charan Singh, who plans to contest Lok Sabha election from Panna said Jain has a turnover of Rs 300 crore to Rs 400 crore. People from other parts of the country had also participated in the bidding.

Many people - rich and poor - try their luck by taking lease of 8m x 8m shallow mine from the district administration for a nominal annual fee. If a diamond is found, it has to be deposited in the office of the district diamond officer of Panna where the precious stones are auctioned periodically.