Laborer from West Bengal wins Rs. 1 crore lottery in God’s Own Country

A fortune deposited in his bank, Mofijul ­Rahman Sekh is a nervous wreck.

By Dileep Thekkethil

When a daily wage laborer from West Bengal reached Kerala with the hope of sending money for his family back home, which included a new-born girl, he never thought that he will be returning back as a millionaire in quick time.

The incident that defies even the best movie script happened in the life of 22-year-old Mofijul ­Rahman Sekh, a Bengali worker who reached Kerala last week.

Mofijul bought a Kerala State Lottery ticket for Rs. 50 from a handicapped vendor in Calicut the day after he arrived in the state. He never though this will be a life-changing moment because when the result of the draw was announced the next day Mofijul was surprised and elated to find that his ticket won the first prize of Rs.1 Crore.

Mofijul’s happiness soon turned into fear as the notion of someone harming him to steal the lucky ticket crept into his thoughts. He shared the lottery story with his close friend who advised him to take the help of the police.

As instructed by his friend, Mofijul sought the help of the Chevayur police station and he has been living inside the station since Monday.

Mofijul is the son of Ahor Sekh and he hails from Uttar Lakshmipur in Malda district of West Bengal. He came to Vellimadukunnu, Calicut, on March 4.

Mofijul said “It’s my first visit to Kerala. I thought I would work here for a few months, visit nearby places and then return to my village. However, the lottery prize came as a total surprise.”

According to police, Mofijul was afraid that someone would kill him to steal the lottery ticket and decided to take shelter in the station. They also added that he was sceptical of even sharing the ticket details to officials in the police station.

Interestingly, when Mofijul went to the State Bank of India branch along with the police officials to deposit the cheque in his newly created account, he apparently asked whether it’s a real bank.

Chevayur circle inspector A V John said, “He came to the police station on Monday around5 pm, accompanied by the builder who had employed him. He sought police protection fearing that his ticket would be stolen. We took him to the State Bank of India’s Vellimadukunnu branch where he opened a bank account and deposited the ticket.”

Mofijul said: “I used to buy lottery tickets even in Bengal. But this is the first time I’ve won.”

He also expressed the fear of going back to his home state as he thinks someone there will harm him to get the money.