Punjab Man, Working On Contract, Wins Rs 1.5-crore Lottery

Ludhiana: Naresh Mehra, a young man from Sujanpur in Pathankot, Punjab, has won a lottery worth Rs 1.5 crore. He works on contract and belongs to a poor family.

When he came to Ludhiana with the winning lottery ticket in hand on Tuesday, he was given a grand welcome. All his family members ate laddoos and everyone performed Bhangra to the beat of drums.

"I had bought the lottery ticket from Sujanpur in Pathankot on April 30. On May 2, when the Punjab government's monthly lottery draw was held, I found that the first prize was worth Rs 1.5 crore," Naresh said.

The young man's father had passed away. Now the family consists of a mother and two brothers. "I am not fond of cars. The condition of the house is very bad and I want to get it renovated," he said, adding that he is not married yet.

Naresh had bought a ticket for Rs 200. "I knew that the draw for the lottery I had entered was to be held today. I checked my phone after taking a break from work. When I compared the winning number with the number of the lottery I had bought, both the numbers matched. Then a wave of joy swept through my house," he said.

The head of Bhanot Enterprise said that they had distributed 172 prizes from their branches across Punjab so far. He said this is an approved lottery of the Punjab government. The lottery dealer of Sujanpur said that the young man had bought the lottery tickets earlier too but this time he won the prize in the monthly lottery.