TESTIMONY. “The third prize would have been better”: become a millionaire thanks to the Loto, he can no longer leave his home

For a bus driver in the southern Indian state of Kerala, winning the national lottery should have been an incredible opportunity to change his life and that of his family. On the contrary, since he won the jackpot, he has been harassed by strangers who demand money from him and no longer dares to leave his home.

“I would have preferred not to win”

More than 3.2 million euros. That sounded pretty good for changing your life, especially since Anoop had to find a new job in Malaysia and to get there had broken his son’s piggy bank. His ticket, he therefore bought it on September 17 and against all odds won the bet. But the luck is only short-lived. In a video, Anoop almost regrets having won, as revealed by the BBC “I was so happy when I won. There were people and cameras all over the house and we were happy”he admits before it turns into a nightmare “Now I can’t leave my house, I can’t go anywhere. My son is sick and I can’t even take him to the doctor.” Indeed, the big winner had made the front page of the newspapers, and since then strangers have been waiting for him in front of his house to ask him for money.

“All I can tell them, I haven’t received any money yet. No one seems to understand the problem, even though I’m just repeating it.” he insists in his video, having been forced to take refuge with his family, to gain peace of mind. Having won the state’s biggest prize has therefore not allowed him, for the moment, to sleep more peacefully, even if the government has indicated that it will organize a training day devoted to financial management.