Bhopal: Just a day ahead of New Year, to labourers of Panna district in Madhya Pradesh received a gift turning them into crorepatis. A big diamond mined by the duo Motilal and Raghuveer Prajapati almost two months ago fetched a price of Rs 2.55 crore in an auction held Friday.
A Jhansi-based jeweler 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.
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.
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 October 9. Before that, the biggest 44.55 carat diamond was found in the shallow mines of Panna in 1961.
“We can now educate our children,” they said. Raghuveer needed the money desperately to repay his debts, said Motilal.
Agencies