Kerala lottery winner says he lost peace of mind and can't sleep as people keep asking him money

Kerala lottery winner says he lost peace of mind and can't sleep as people keep asking him money

After all the tax and agent commission deductions, the 30-year-old will get over Rs 15 crores in cash prize, a huge amount by any count.

Life is unpredictable, and you never know what is coming next.

Just a week ago Anoop, an auto driver from Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram was not known outside his friends and family circles.

But on Sunday, September 18, he became an instant celebrity after he was announced the winner of the Rs 25 crore Onam Bumper lottery.

The story of Anoop who was planning to go to Malaysia to work there as a chef was flashed across TV screens and on social media in Kerala and beyond.

After all the tax and agent commission deductions, the 30-year-old will get over Rs 15 crores in cash prize, a huge amount by any count.

So, it is safe to assume that Anoop is over the moon and thanking his stars for his luck, except that he is not.

Thanks to the publicity the lottery result received, Anoop was soon flooded with calls from friends, family, and total strangers asking for money.

The same happened when Anoop stepped out of his house as well - anyone who meets him was asking for money.

Anoop even said he got a call offering the lead role in a Malayalam movie if he was ready to pay Rs 2 crores.

"I have lost all peace of mind and I can't even reside in my own home as I am besieged with people who come calling to ask me to sort out various needs of theirs as I have won the first prize. I now keep changing where I stay as I have lost all peace of mind that I enjoyed till I won the prize," he said.

Things have now reached a point where Anoop is regretting his luck and wished that he never won the lottery or it was the second or third prize.

"Now I really wish, I should not have won it. I, like most people, really enjoyed my winning for a day or two with all the publicity. But now this has become a menace and I can't even go outside where I stay. People are after me seeking help from me," he added.

Anoop has lost his sleep even before the winning amount is credited to his account.

Unlike Anoop, the second prize winner who won Rs 6 crore, decided to remain anonymous and the only detail available is that he is a resident of Pala town in Kottayam district.

In 2021 too the Onam Bumper, the lottery with the biggest cash prize in Kerala had made headlines for the wrong reasons.

Kerala lottery winner says he lost peace of mind and can't sleep as people keep asking him money
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Hours after the lottery draw was concluded and Keralites were eagerly searching for the lucky winner, a man working in Dubai claimed that he had bought the winning ticket.

Saithalavi, a native of Panamarm in Wayanad District said that he had bought the ticket through a friend, Ahmed who only shared a photo of the ticket with him on Whatsapp.

The friend claimed ignorance and said he never bought the ticket Saithalavi, but only forwarded the photo of the winning ticket which he saw on Facebook for fun.

This led to Saithalavi's family accusing Ahmed of cheating him and even threatening to file a case against him.

In the meantime, another man, Jayaplana, an auto driver from Kochi also claimed that he was the winner.

And unlike Saithalavi, had the winning ticket and submitted it in a bank.

As confusion over the real winner continued, Saithalavi admitted that he made up the lottery-winning story for fun, but never expected it to be taken seriously.

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