Just five days after being announced winner of the Rs 25 crore first prize in Kerala government's mega Onam bumper lottery, autorickshaw driver Anoop says he regrets his windfall. "I have lost all peace of mind and I can't even reside in my own home as I am besieged with people who come calling to ask me to sort out various needs of theirs as I have won the first prize. I now keep changing where I stay as I have lost all peace of mind that I enjoyed till I won the prize," he said.
Anoop lives with his wife, child, and mother at Sreekariyam, about 12 km from the main capital city of Thiruvananthapuram. The winning ticket was taken by Anoop from a local agent hereafter with the money he took from his child’s saving’s box. Anoop published a video on social media saying that he was very happy when the prize was announced, but he was in distress now. "I have to keep changing houses. I went and stayed in my sister's house, but people searched that address out and came there. I came now as my child is unwell. I have not even got the money. I now wish I had not got so much money, maybe I should have won the third prize," Anoop says, holding his child. While he speaks on the video, he points out that people are knocking on his door.
After deduction of tax and other dues, Anoop will get an amount of Rs 15 crore as the prize money. "Now I really wish I had not won it. I, like most people, enjoyed the win and all the publicity thereafter, for a day or two. But now this has become a menace and I can't even go outside where I stay. People are after me seeking financial help," he added.
He is using his social media account to tell people that he is yet to get the money. Anoop's wife Maya says that people have lined up from various places in Kerala and a few people from Tamil Nadu. "They just come and demand money, we don't know what to say. Anoop is not even able to return home."
Anoop rues that now the stage has come where many who were known to him will become his enemies. "My neighbors are angry as many people who come looking for me hang around in the neighborhood. Even when wearing a mask, people crowd around me knowing I am the winner. All my peace of mind has disappeared," said a peeved Anoop.