Truck driver wins Rs 10 crore lottery in Punjab's Rupnagar
A truck driver from Rupnagar district has hit a jackpot of Rs 10 crore in the Punjab State Dear Lohri Makar Sankranti Bumper-2025, results of which were declared on Saturday. This is the biggest prize money offered by any lottery in Punjab so far.
The winner, Harpinder Singh of Barwa village in Nurpur Bedi, works as a truck driver in Kuwait and had bought the ticket for Rs 500 when he was home for holidays.
“I cannot believe my luck. It is by sheer grace of God that I have won such a big amount. I feel one should buy a ticket at least once in their lifetime,” says an elated Harpinder, who has been buying lottery tickets for the past 15 years.
Harpinder remembers going out with his family to buy the winning ticket from a vendor at the Old Bus Stand.
Harpinder has had his fair share of challenges too. He had to raise a loan to fund his travel to Kuwait for work. A few years ago, his son Devinder Singh’s left arm had to be amputated after an accident.
Harpinder now plans to use this money to set up a business for his son and secure his future. Devinder hopes the money will also help him get a decent medical treatment and help him lead a normal life.
Apart from setting up business, Harpinder plans to pay off the debt. Asked if he really needed money that bad, Harpinder, wearing a smile, quips: “Paise di zaroorat kis nu nahi hundi (who doesn’t need money).”
Officials of the Punjab State Lotteries Department say 30 per cent of the winning amount will be deducted as tax deducted at source (TDS) apart from miscellaneous income tax.
It’s a lottery of sorts for vendor Hemant Kakkar too as he stands to gain big. He will get nearly Rs 25 lakh, while the sub-stockist gains Rs 5 lakh. Besides, the vendor wins the trust of customers for being a “genuine” ticket seller, say officials.
Amid strewn flower petals and echoes of drumbeats at the shop, Kakkar says: “As the prize money gets bigger every year, more and more people are getting drawn to lotteries. But first you need to have a heart to buy the Rs 500 ticket.”