KOZHIKODE: A Bengali worker arrived in Kerala on March 4 hoping to eke out a living. Instead he found a fortune barely 24 hours after his arrival.
Twenty-two-year-old Mofijul Rahman Sekh bought a lottery ticket on the day he arrived in Kerala, and the next day the draw declared him the winner.
The prize: Rs 1 crore.
Since then, he has been living inside the Chevayur police station.
Mofijul, son of Ahor Sekh, hails from Uttar Lakshmipur in Malda district of West Bengal. He came to Vellimadukunnu on March 4. On a whim, he bought a lottery ticket from a vendor for Rs 50. Imagine his surprise when his ticket was drawn for the first prize the very next day.
“It's my first visit to Kerala. I thought I would work here for a few months, visit nearby places and then return to my village. However, the lottery prize came as a total surprise,” said Mofijul.
“I used to buy lottery tickets even in Bengal. But this is the first time I've won,” he said.
Mofijul said he would build a house and purchase farmland with the money.
Chevayur circle inspector A V John said, “He came to the police station on Monday around 5 pm, accompanied by the builder who had employed him. He sought police protection fearing that his ticket would be stolen.”
“We took him to the State Bank of India’s Vellimadukunnu branch where he opened a bank account and deposited the ticket,” the officer said.