An Indian named Ranjith Somarajan and his associates together have won a lottery of about Rs 40 crore.
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In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a 37-year-old Indian driver and his nine associates from different countries won a lottery worth 20 million dirhams (about Rs 40 crore). Khaleej Times reported on Saturday that Ranjith Somarajan, a resident of Kerala and a driver working in Abu Dhabi, was buying tickets for the last three years. Somarajan was quoted in the media report as saying, “I never thought that my jackpot (winning the most money in the lottery) would take place. I thought I could win the second or third place lottery.
Somarajan said that this time the second prize was 30 lakhs and the third prize was 10 lakh dirhams. Somarajan has been receiving calls from his friends and loved ones continuously since the jackpot was hit. Somarajan said, I have been here since 2008. I worked as a driver with Dubai Taxi and other companies. Last year I worked in a company as a driver cum salesperson, but it was difficult for me to survive due to salary cut.
Each person paid 100 dirhams for the ticket
Ranjit Somarajan said, we are a total of 10 people. Others are from different countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. They work in the parking lot of a hotel. We bought tickets under the ‘buy two and get one free’ offer. Each person gave 100 dirhams. Ticket was taken in my name on 29th June. He said that I would tell others to keep trying their luck. I was sure that my good day would surely come. I had full faith that God’s grace would be on me one day.
Last year an Indian man won a lottery worth Rs 19.90 crore
Buying lottery tickets in UAE is very popular among people. Earlier, last year a 35-year-old Indian had won a jackpot of one crore dirhams, or Rs 19.90 crore. Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Punjab, had bought a lottery ticket in August last year. When the organizers called Singh on September 3 and told him that he had won the lottery, they thought someone was joking with him. Singh was participating in the ‘Big Ticket’ raffle lottery for more than two years. But his attention was very less on the lucky draw on social media.
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