For 24-year-old Azad Singh, buying a lottery ticket for the first time proved to be quite lucky. He hit the jackpot with the ticket, winning the ₹1.5-crore cash prize.
A resident of Dayyar village of Fatehabad district, Azad lives in a mud house and runs a small confectionery shop at the village bus stand. According to the Times of India, Singh bought a New Year Bumper Lottery ticket last December. The lottery is conducted by the Punjab government.
"I had purchased the ticket expecting to win an assured prize of ₹400, but I never knew it would make me a crorepati and popular in my village," Singh told TOI.
"On Monday evening, when I checked the status of lottery result, my ticket number matched with the top prize," he said. "I could not believe my eyes and checked it ten times to confirm." Singh informed his relatives and friends of his big win and they all broke into celebrations at his house. On Tuesday, three officials from the state lottery department reached his village and confirmed his win.
A school dropout, Azad wants to use the money to build a house for himself and set up a business.
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