Farm labourer’s family in Punjab's Faridkot wins Rs 1.5 crore lottery, flees home fearing extortion

A life-changing stroke of luck has brought both joy and anxiety to a poor farm labourer family in Faridkot’s Saideke village. Nasib Kaur, a daily-wage farm worker, has won the first prize of Rs 1.5 crore in the Punjab State Lottery — but the sudden fortune has pushed the family into fear of potential extortion attempts. So intense is their worry that the family has locked up their house and moved to an undisclosed location. Their mobile phones, too, remain switched off.

Nasib Kaur and her husband Ram Singh, both farm labourers, were unaware for nearly a day that they had become crorepatis. Lottery seller Raju from nearby Sadiq town had repeatedly tried calling Ram Singh on December 6 after discovering the winning ticket, but Ram Singh, who was in Rajasthan at the time, did not answer the calls.

Once Raju finally located the family, he rushed them to the lottery office in Chandigarh to submit the winning ticket. Ram Singh, who has been buying Rs 50 lottery tickets for the past two years, had never before purchased a higher-priced ticket, said Raju. “I told Ram Singh to try a big one this time,” he recalled. He hesitated because they barely manage their daily expenses, but finally agreed and bought a Rs 200 ticket in his wife’s name. And this is the one that won them Rs 1.5 crore, said Raju.

The couple has three married daughters and an unmarried son who also works as a farm labourer. Ram Singh said the family plans to use the prize money to build property for their children — something they were never able to do earlier.

But the joy quickly turned to fear. The family is worried that receiving such a large sum might attract extortionists. To stay safe, they left their home in Saideke and switched off their phones. Their house now sits locked, raising curiosity among neighbours.

DSP Tarlochan Singh confirmed that the police have met the family and assured them full support. “Nasib Kaur has won Rs 1.5 crore, and the family is scared someone might threaten them. We called them today and told them they have nothing to fear. If they receive any such call, they must inform us immediately. Police stand with them,” he said. The SHO has gone to them to give them all assurance, said the DSP.

While the family’s fortune has brought them hope for a better future, it has also cast a shadow of fear — turning a dream win into a cautious celebration.