Bhopal, Jul 28 (IANS): Madhya Pradesh's Panna, famous for its diamond mines, has made many poor families' fortune as they come across precious stones in the most unexpected places.

In the latest such instance, Lady Luck smiled on a poor woman, who had gone to collect firewood in a forest area in Panna, as she returned with a 4.39 carat diamond.

The woman, identified as Gendabai and a resident of Purusottampur village of the district, used to go to the forest to collect firewood, which she sold to earn her sustenance.

On Wednesday, when she was busy in collecting firewood, she noticed a sparkling stone lying just few metres away from her.

She took it and went to government-run 'Diamond Office' and shown it to the officials present there. There, she was informed that "stone" she had found and brought from the forest is actually a precious diamond.

"The raw diamond, which the woman found, has been received from her and would be auctioned and the money would be given to her after the deduction of government royalty and taxes. The diamond is estimated to be worth Rs 20-25 lakh," said Anupam Singh, a diamond inspector.

In February this year, a brick kiln operator had found a 26.11 carat diamond worth Rs 1.2 crore. In December last year, the fortune of four labourers changed after they came across as many as seven precious diamonds when they were doing digging work.

Located in Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region, Panna is also known for its famous tiger reserve.