Man loses job in Covid, wins Rs 7.3 crore in raffle

Covid-19 pandemic has been difficult for many of us – and it has been same for 30-year-old Navaneeth Sajeevan, an Indian ex-pat from Kerala after he lost his job. Employed in an Abu Dhabi-based company, Sajeevan was among those asked to leave a job due to a post-Covid financial crunch.

However, a phone call changed Sajeevan’s life – From the Dubai Duty-Free (DDF) informing him that he had won a prize of USD 1 million at the DDF Millennium Millionaire Draw.

Originally from Kasargod in Kerala, Sajeevan lives with his wife and child in Abu Dhabi. He bought the winning raffle ticket online on November 22.

“My wife is still working here. I was planning to head home if I didn’t find a good job. I have loans to the tune of 100,000 dirhams. This win will go towards that,” he told Gulf News.

Sajeevan is the 171st Indian to have won the DDF mega prize.

In April of this year, an Indian ex-pat from Dubai had won USD 1 million in the DDF mega millon dollar raffle. However, the winner, later identified as Paraparambil George Varghese could not fly down to Dubai until August owing to Covid restrictions.