Fortunes smiled on a labourer after he unearthed 7.2 carat diamond at a mine in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, an official said.
Balbir Singh Yadav extracted the precious stone from a pit at Krishna Kalyanpur mine in Pati Bajaria area of the district, diamond inspector Anupam Singh said.
After unearthing the stone, Balbir rushed to the mine office to deposit it with the authorities.
While the official said the exact value of the diamond will be decided by the authorities, Balbir and his elated wife Laadwati told reporters that they were informed that it would fetch anywhere between Rs 35 lakh to Rs 40 lakh.
The stone will be auctioned, following which the couple will get the proceeds after deduction of 12.5 per cent royalty, the official added.
Panna, located in the backward region of Bundelkhand, is famous for its diamond mines.
