Indian farmer Vilas Rikkala left the United Arab Emirates (UAE) nearly 7 weeks ago after failing to find a job in Dubai. But before leaving he borrowed INR 20,000 from his wife and gave the money to his friend Ravi, who works in Abu Dhabi, to buy three raffle tickets in his name. On Saturday, Rikkala was informed that he was the winner of the Big Ticket raffle. His prize? A whopping Dh 15 million or USD 4.08 million.
According to reports, Rikkala and his wife are farmers in India and their annual earnings from tilling rice fields amount to about INR 3,00,000 or USD 4,306. Rikkala had previously lived in Dubai and worked as a driver.
An inhabitant of Jakranpalli village in Nizamabad district, Rikkala has two daughters. He has been buying raffle tickets in the UAE for two years, including the Dubai Shopping Festival raffle tickets while he worked in the UAE.
