Fortune smiles on Kerala lottery seller as unsold ticket makes him to crorepati

In a rags-to-richestale, a 46-year old lottery vendor in Kollam has become acorepati overnight after an unsold ticket won the first prizeof Rs 12 crore in the Kerala government's Christmas-New Yearbumper issue.

It was a sweet surprise when Sharafudeen A, who hailsfrom Tenkasi in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, learnt that theticket with him among other unsold ones has bagged the topprize in the lottery.

Living in a small house on 'poramboke' (government) landat Eravidharmapuram near Aryankavu in Kollam district,bordering Tamil Nadu, it had been a struggle for Sharafudeen,a Gulf returnee, to take care of his six-member joint family,especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

''I want to build a house of my own, clear my debts andstart a small business with the prize amount,'' he told PTI.

Sharafudeen, who returned from Riyadh in 2013 afterslogging there for nine years doing odd jobs, had been sellinglottery tickets in and around Aryankavu.

His family comprises his mother, two brothers, wife andson Pervez Musharraf, a class 10 student.

On Tuesday, he appeared before the Lottery Directoratehere and produced the winning ticket.

Sharafudeen would get about Rs 7.50 crore after 30 percent tax deduction and 10 per cent agent commission in theprize money, sources said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)