Indian beggar wins INR6.5 million in lottery

The 35-year-old also won a series of consolation prizes worth INR90,000 in the lots drawn on Wednesday

In a rags to riches story, a physically-challenged beggar named Ponnaiyya won the jackpot of INR6.5 million in the state-run Akshaya lottery.

The 35-year-old also won a series of consolation prizes of INR90,000 in the lots drawn on Wednesday.

Being informed by local police, the lottery winner’s father and brother came to take him home after completing transaction procedures of the prize money.



Originally a mason by profession, Ponnaiyya turned to begging to look after his wife and three children when he lost a leg in an accident.

He used to beg in and around the suburb and sleep at a bus stand at Marthandam, located on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.

Ponnaiyya sent the money collected through begging via a bank to his family, and often saved some amount to purchase lottery tickets every month.



“It was the local lottery agent who sold him tickets realised Ponnaiyya had won the first prize. The agent tracked him, conveyed the news and took him to the police station considering his safety,” a local police official said.

Ponnaiyya is still at Vellarada and he would go back to the home state with his father and brother soon, the official added.

This article originally appeared on India Today