From Debt to Diamonds: MP Labourer Finds Rs 80,00,000 Gem!

Raju Gond’s discovery of a 19.22-carat diamond at a state-owned mine changes his life forever, with plans to pay off debts and secure his family’s future.

In a dazzling twist of fortune, a 40-year-old labourer from Madhya Pradesh has struck gold—more precisely, a 19.22-carat diamond worth nearly $100,000 (around Rs 83.7 lakh)—while digging on a modest 64 sqm plot at a state-owned mine.

The Panna district, located in MP’s Bundelkhand region, is estimated to have diamond reserves of 12 lakh carats.

Debt-ridden Raju Gond, who normally makes around Rs 350 a day from whatever work he can find to support his large family, told a news agency that his life has “changed forever” after discovering the precious stone.

The story began two months ago when the monsoons washed away many work opportunities. Instead of staying home, Gond and his brother Rakesh decided to search for diamonds on a 64 square meter plot of government land at a shallow mine in Krishna Kalyanpur, where they sometimes paid Rs800 a day for the chance to work.

“What we have to do is fill in a form, provide identification proof, and photos, and pay 800 rupees ($9.50) to the government,” Gond explained. “When we  are done searching there, we can apply again to search for diamonds on another patch of land.”

It was during one of these searches that luck struck. On Wednesday, as Gond uncovered the stone, his heart raced as he cleaned the dirt off it. With every stroke of his finger, the stone shone brighter and brighter.

“It shone spectacularly; I knew it was a diamond right then!” Gond recalled from his home in the Panna district. Overwhelmed with joy, he and Rakesh hugged each other in excitement before racing 11 km home on their bike to share the incredible news with their family. They then brought their mother to the local Panna Diamond Office to have the stone evaluated.

Anupam Singh, the diamond examiner, carefully weighed the gem and confirmed that it was indeed a white diamond, valuing it at about $95,500. Singh noted that Panna’s reputation for extraordinary diamond finds remains strong, mentioning notable past discoveries including a 54.55-carat diamond in 1961 and a 42-carat diamond in 2018.

The government leases shallow mines to families who want to search for gemstones, under the supervision of local officials. The government takes an 11.5% royalty for any find, plus a small tax, and gives the remaining amount to the person who found it. 

Officials said the raw diamond would be auctioned and the proceeds would be given to the labourer after deducting government royalty and taxes.

According to Singh, the diamond office will wait for the value of its inventory to exceed $360,000 before holding an auction, after which Gond will receive his payout. “Right now, we have diamonds worth half that amount,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gond has already started planning for the future. He has opened a bank account and is eagerly waiting for the money to be credited. “The first thing I’ll do is pay back debt of ($6,000). Then we will invest in all children getting educated, building homes, buy some land and maybe a tractor too,” he said. 

Lately, it has been hard to make ends meet. His family includes his parents, wife, seven children, and the families of his younger brother and sister. Growing up, Gond heard stories from his father and grandfathers about people who found diamonds in the soil and how it changed their family’s fate. Today, he says, he has his own story to share.

And on Friday, the brothers were back at the mine. “We are already in the shallow mine. We will find more diamonds!”