Indian man claims USD 4 million in Abu Dhabi raffle

An Indian expatriate on Thursday won 15 million dirhams in the Big Ticket raffle at the Abu Dhabi airport. Sarath Purushothaman, who is based in Dubai, was among the eight Indians, out of 10 winners of the Big Ticket raffle draw, the Khaleej Times reported. Purushothaman was announced as the winner of a bumper prize of 15 million dirhums, it said, adding that it was the highest prize ever given away by Big Ticket.

According to the report, Purushothaman was contacted on the phone after the winning ticket was announced, but he thought it to be a prank. The organisers had to call him once again to confirm that the announcement was legitimate, it said. The second price of 100,000 dirhums was won by another Indian expat Jinachandran Vazhoor Narayanan. Among the 10 winners, eight were Indians at the Thursday's draw, while the other two winners were from Pakistan and Fiji.

(With inputs from agencies.)