People’s luck can change overnight and that’s exactly what happened with Renjith Somarajan. The 37-year-old Indian man and nine of his associates from different countries hit a jackpot by winning a whopping 20 million dirham (approximately Rs 40 crore) in a raffle draw in the UAE.
Renjith Somarajan, who hails from Kerala and works as a driver in Abu Dhabi, has been purchasing tickets for the past three years, including winning the jackpot while he was right in front of a mosque, the Khaleej Times reported on Saturday. He said that that he never dreamed of winning the lottery with first prize, but he only hoped to win the second or third prize.
Somarajan’s phone is now buzzing with congratulatory calls from friends and loved ones. He said it has been a tough life for him so far while hopping jobs in hope of a better salary.
“I have been here since 2008. I worked as a driver with Dubai Taxi and different companies. Last year, I worked as driver-cum-salesman with a company but with my salary deduction, it was a difficult life,” Somarajan told Khaleej Times.
Somarajan will be sharing the prize money with 9 other people he met recently. All of them hail from different countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Working in the valet parking of a hotel, they bought the ticket under the ‘buy two and get one free offer in which each person pooled 100 dirhams.
