An Indian man from Kerala in the UAE has hit a jackpot by winning a whopping 12 million (USD 3.2 million) Dirham in the biggest-ever raffle prize money in Abu Dhabi.
Harikrishnan V Nair, 42, who works as a business development manager for a firm in Dubai and has been living in the UAE with his family since 2002, won the huge amount on Thursday in 'Big Ticket' raffle draw that took place on 7 January 2018.
In 2017, Harikrishnan purchased three lottery tickets, one in March, the second in November, and another in December. Little did he know that this third ticket would win him the biggest-ever raffle prize money in all of Abu Dhabi.
"I still cannot believe it. Is it me? Is it really me?" an excited Nair, who is from Kerala, told Khaleej Times. He said he had bought the tickets twice before, but had never won.
Nair said he had always wanted to travel the world with his family, and the time for it is finally here. "I think 2018 is the year for that. I will plan a world tour soon," said Nair, father of a seven-year-old son.
"I would like to plan for my son's education and buy another house in India. I want to take good care of my mother and my wife's mother too, who are in India," he said. Charity is also among one of Nair's agenda.
His wife, a logistics support staff, said she could not believe the news. "I was dumbfounded when I got the call from my husband. First I thought he was playing the same prank I had planned on him," she said.
"Now that he has won the jackpot, I will let him figure out what he wants to do with it. He is after all a business development manager, and would know better how to manage his funds," she said.
Eight Indians were among 10 people who had won Dirham 1 million (USD 2.7 lakh), each in a mega raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in October 2017. In August, an Indian man had won Dirham 5 million (USD 1.3 million) in the draw in the UAE. ’
(With Inputs from PTI and The News Minute)
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