Kerala labourer hits ₹12 crore jackpot

The daily wage worker says hsi first priority is to clear three loans that totals ₹7 lakh.

A tribal daily wage worker P Rajan (53) went to the bank last month to inquire about a fourth loan to pay the interest on his three other loans but the manager was not helpful. On his way back home, an upset Rajan bought a lottery, more out of habit and less out of expectation that Lady Luck will smile on him.

P Rajan with his family after winning a bumper prize of ₹12 crore in a Kerala state lottery. (Sourced)

But it did. The poor labourer hit the jackpot winning Christmas-New Year bumper prize of the Kerala state lottery and is now ₹12 crore richer.

He said his wife Rajani always used to quarrel with him over his habit of buying lottery tickets. But this time, the lottery ticket that cost ₹300, has changed their life forever.

The draw of the lottery took place on Monday and the state lottery department later identified that the first prize winning lottery was sold at an outlet in Koothuparambha in Kannur district. There was suspense for a day as nobody showed up to claim the prize. Later on Tuesday afternoon Rajan jotted down his ticket number and went to an outlet near his house to check and couldn’t believe his eyes - his ticket ST 269609 won the bumper prize of ₹12 crore, highest prize money in state lottery history.

“When I returned home my wife was not willing to believe me. She thought I was joking. She realised it only when people came to congratulate me,” said Rajan.

He said his first priority is to pay off his ₹7 lakh loans and then complete his half-finished house. He was forced to divert his savings when his eldest daughter got married last year.

A rubber tapper by profession, Rajan was struggling to make ends meet and his son was forced to discontinue his studies to help run the house. His youngster daughter is a 12th standard student. After tax and agent commission he is likely to get around between ₹7 and 8 crore.

Tax on liquor (which is 300 per cent in Kerala) and revenue from lottery are major earnings of the state government. More than two lakh people are engaged in the trade as agents and retailers. Many differently-abled and others eke out a living by selling lottery tickets.