Wayanad: The first prize of the Rs 25 crore in the Thiruvonam Bumper Lottery was won by Karnataka native, Altaf. The mechanic from Pandavapuram near Mysuru bought the winning ticket TG 434222 from Sulthan Bathery. He has been purchasing lottery tickets for the past 15 years.
When Altaf told his relatives that he had won the lottery, they didn’t believe him. It was only after he showed them a screenshot of the winning ticket number from the TV that they were convinced. He then informed his relatives in Wayanad. Altaf is married and has two children.
"Altaf was very excited about the win," said lottery sub-agent Nagaraj, who sold him the ticket. The ticket was originally sold to Nagaraj by A M Jineesh, 42, the owner of S J Lucky Centre in Panamaram, Wayanad.
As the selling agent, Jineesh will receive a commission of Rs 25 lakh, while Nagaraj, the sub-agent, will earn Rs 2.25 crore.
The much-anticipated draw for the Kerala Thiruvonam Bumper Lottery took place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Gorkhi Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. Finance Minister K N Balagopal inaugurated the event in the presence of MLA V K Prasanth and Abraham Renn, Director of the Lottery Department.