Nettoor lottery agent who sold ₹25 crore winning ticket thanks locals, hopes winner is one of them

Kochi: Latheesh could hardly believe his luck when he learned that the first prize ticket of ₹25 crore in this year’s Thiruvonam bumper had been sold from his shop. The ticket was purchased by him from Bhagavathi Agencies, a lottery distributor.
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“Until now, the chances of my name appearing in the papers were slim—perhaps only if I died. But today, the whole world knows me. I feel like crying. I wish someone from Nettoor won the lottery, because they are the ones who kept me going. Many times, when tickets remained unsold, it was the people here who bought them just to support me. People in Kumbalam, where I live, may not know me, but for the last 30 years the people in Nettoor have known me,” Latheesh said, speaking from his shop at the INTUC junction in Nettoor.

Latheesh, who runs Rohini Traders, a grocery store at the same junction, started selling lottery tickets a year ago after a string of unsuccessful business ventures. Though his family initially opposed the idea, he continued with the trade. Two months ago, a daily lottery ticket sold by him had won ₹1 crore, though the winner’s identity remained unknown.

For this year’s bumper, Latheesh bought 800 tickets from Bhagavathi Agencies and 300 from the Ernakulam lottery office, all of which sold out by 11.00 am on the day of the draw. Most of his customers are locals from Nettoor, many of whom regularly bought tickets to support him. “It is mostly daily wage workers who buy from me. My wish is that one of them should win,” he said, adding that he does not plan to expand his small counter.

The winner of the ₹25 crore Onam bumper prize has not yet come forward.