Indian expat from Kerala wins Dh917,500 just 4 months into UAE job

29-year-old scoops multi-rupee-million share of $1million Dubai Duty Free draw

Dubai: Lady Luck has smiled early on a young Indian expat who has become a multi-million-rupee winner just four months into his first job in the UAE.

Sreeraj MR, who hails from the south Indian state of Kerala, on Wednesday became the joint winner of a $1 million prize in the Dubai Duty Free (DDF) Millennium Millionaire draw.

The 29-year-old, working as an accounts assistant in Dubai, will receive 25 per cent of the jackpot. The remaining 75 per cent goes to his colleague, Pradeep Chalatan, a long-time participant who finally hit the jackpot after over a decade of trying.

Pradeep told Gulf News: “We never know if it is his luck that favoured us this time … I think he is luckier.”

He said that he had initially thought the notification was a prank.
“Then I noticed the phone number is from DDF, and I became so happy that I couldn’t even talk properly.”

“God is still there,” he added.

‘Dubai is lucky for me’

Sreeraj, who moved to the UAE in April and lives in Karama, said:

“Dubai is really lucky for me … When [Pradeep] asked me if I want to try my luck and join him in buying the ticket, I thought, why not?”

He recalled buying tickets occasionally back home, but never being a regular.

“I wasn’t regular in taking tickets back home and I was never a winner… So, I thought, ‘what if I get lucky here?’”
“I never expected to win so early,” he added.

“When he (Pradeep) told me, I just couldn’t believe it … I asked him many times to confirm it… It was only after that I called up home and told my parents. Thank you DDF,” said Sreeraj, who has a younger married sister.

A resident of Karama, the eligible bachelor is now looking forward to marriage:

“Yes, I can show your report and seek alliance,” he joked. However, he was quick to add: “Only once I finalise a proposal will I even reveal this (to my future fiancée).”

Both winners requested not to have their photos published, citing concerns about how it might “boomerang.”