Kollam: A lottery ticket seller himself became a crorepati when an unsold ticket that he retained won the first prize of Rs 12 crore in the Kerala government’s Christmas-New Year bumper issue.
Life has been anything but a bed of roses for 46-year-old A Sharafudeen, who lives in a small house on government land in Kerala’s Kollam.
Having had to return home after a nine-year stay in Riyadh doing odd jobs, it’s been a struggle to take care of his six-member joint family, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, life is set to take a 360-degree turn as Sharafudeen will finally be able to provide a good life to his mother, two brothers, wife and son Pervez Musharraf, a Class 10 student.
“I want to build a house of my own, clear my debts and start a small business with the prize amount,” Sharafudeen was quoted as saying.
He did win small prizes from the lottery in the past, but never had he come remotely close to hitting the jackpot.
There will be a 30% tax deduction and 10% agent commission from the prize money. But even then, Sharafudeen will be left with Rs 7.5 crore – more than he had ever dreamt of.
