Auto driver-cum-chef on cloud nine as he wins Rs 25 crore Onam bumper lottery
An auto-rickshaw driver, who was planning to move to Malaysia to work as a chef, won the Rs 25 crore Onam bumper lottery in Kerala on Sunday, one day after his application for a Rs 3 lakh loan was approved. The day after
More interestingly, Anup, who hails from Srivaraham here, bought the winning ticket — TJ 750605 — on Saturday.
But it was not his first choice, he told reporters who were present at the agency where he bought the ticket.
He didn’t like the first ticket he picked, so he picked a different ticket that turned out to be a winner, he said.
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About the loan and his trip to Malaysia, a happy Anup said, “The bank called today regarding the loan and I said I don’t need it anymore. I won’t even go to Malaysia.”
Anup said he has been buying lottery tickets for the past 22 years and has won amounts ranging from a few hundreds to as much as Rs 5,000 in the past.
“I didn’t expect to win and so, I wasn’t watching the lottery results on TV. However, when I checked my phone, I saw that I had won. I couldn’t believe it and my Showed it to the wife. She confirmed it. It was the winning number,” he said.
“But I was still stressed, so I called a woman I know who sells lottery tickets and sent her a picture of my ticket. She confirmed that it was the winning number,” said Anoop.
After taxes are deducted, Anup will probably take home around Rs 15 crore.
Asked what he intends to do with the disaster, he said his first priority is to build a house for his family and pay off his debts.
Apart from this, Anup said that he will help his relatives, do some charity work and start something in the hotel sector in Kerala.
His wife, who was with him at the agency, told reporters that he had been buying tickets for years.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls since everyone found out about the win,” he added.
“I will buy lottery tickets again,” Anup said as reporters jostled each other to get a few words from him.
Incidentally, last year’s Onam bumper lottery worth Rs 12 crore was also won by an auto-rickshaw driver. Jayapalan PR, an auto-rickshaw driver from Maradu near Kochi, won the lottery last year.
This year the second prize of Rs 5 crore will go to the owner of the ticket – TG 270912.
Apart from this, 10 others have won a prize of Rs 1 crore each.
The winning number was selected by the state finance minister K.N. Balgopal at a lucky draw event at Gorky Bhavan here today.
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