Indian hits jackpot, wins Dh12 million lottery prize in Abu Dhabi

An Indian man in Dubai has hit a jackpot by winning a prize money of Dirham 12 million in a lottery draw in Abu Dhabi.

John Varughese, who is working as a driver for a private company in Dubai, won the huge prize at the Big Ticket raffle held at the Abu Dhabi International Airport on Tuesday.

"I couldn't believe that I could get lucky. April Fool's Day had just passed by and I thought it was some friend pulling my leg. I also had doubts if this was a fake call," Varughese was quoted as saying in PTI.

Varughese has been living in Dubai since 2016 when he came to the city from Kerala

"Even though it was confirmed but I still took a while before calling my family back in Kerala. This is surreal and the new feeling of being a winner is slowly sinking in," he told the 'Khaleej Times'.

On winning the lottery, Varughese said he intended to share the prize money with four of his friends, but first wants to switch from a basic phone to a smartphone.

"I have a small family with wife and two children. I will now invest in their future. There is no better way to make use of this money than to invest in education," he said.

"I will set aside a portion to help the needy too as I shouldn't forget my past days," Varughese added. Varughese is an addition to the long list of Indians who have won the Abu Dhabi lucky draw.