Ticket to freedom

39-izarul lucky break: Izarul Sheikh

Izarul Sheikh, a construction worker from Murshidabad, West Bengal, won a Rs1 crore lottery after he reportedly fled Kerala, fearing that he may be quarantined as he was running a fever. But Sheikh said he was sent home by his employer in Ernakulam; he got Rs10,000 as severance pay.

When he arrived at his home in Beledanga on March 17, he realised the sum was insufficient to support his family for even a month. So, he purchased a lottery ticket. On March 22, he found out that he had won. “I could not imagine how to thank Allah!” he said, breaking down. “I was praying to God, urging him to save me from this crisis.”

Eight years ago, Sheikh left the poverty-stricken district, looking for work. He was recently earning up to Rs1,200 per day as a mason in Kerala. In Beledanga, his entire village turned up to congratulate him on his luck, despite the ongoing lockdown.

Block development officer Birupakshya Mitra said that Sheikh was being monitored for symptoms of Covid-19. Even at local bus stations, authorities have been keeping watch for fresh arrivals with symptoms. “Sheikh is not running a fever,” said Mitra.

Sheikh said the unemployment in his district had forced many to buy lottery tickets, as a last resort. But Sheikh is a happy man now. “I will not go back [to Kerala] as a labourer,” he said. “This time, Inshallah, I will go as a tourist.”