DUBAI: An Indian driver in Dubai has hit a jackpot by winning a whopping dirham 12 million in a raffle draw in Abu Dhabi, the latest addition to the long list of lucky winners from India. John Varughese, who has been working as a driver for a private company since 2016 won the huge amount at the Big Ticket raffle held at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.
"I couldn't believe that I could get lucky. April Fool's Day had just passed by and I thought it was some friend pulling my leg. I also had doubts if this was a fake call," Varughese said. "Even though it was confirmed but I still took a while before calling my family back in Kerala. This is surreal and the new feeling of being a winner is slowly sinking in," he told the 'Khaleej Times'.
Varughes said he intended to share the prize money with four of his friends, but first wants to switch from a basic phone to a smartphone.
"I have a small family with wife and two children. I will now invest in their future. There is no better way to make use of this money than to invest in education," he said. "I will set aside a portion to help the needy too as I shouldn't forget my past days," Varughese added. Earlier in January, another Keralite in the UAE had won a dirham 12 million in the biggest-ever raffle prize money in Abu Dhabi. Eight Indians were among the 10 people who had won dirham 1 million each in a mega raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in October last year. In August, an Indian had won dirham 5 million in the draw in the UAE.
