UAE-based Indian pledges to donate part of his lottery money to Odisha train crash victims

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An Indian chef based in Abu Dhabi has pledged to donate a portion of his winnings from his recently won cash prize of more than 4 lakhs in a lottery to the victims of the Odisha train accident that claimed 288 lives.

Sahajan Mohammad, who hails from Jaspur town of Odisha won Dh20,000 (Rs 4,48,885) cash prize in Dream Island's scratch card game last week, the Khaleej Times newspaper reported.

Talking about Odisha train accident on June 2, Mohammed said, "Fortunately, none of my known persons were involved in this horrific accident... There are a few people from my locality who have been injured in this accident. I will be helping those who are affected in my village first."

The train collision in Odisha's Balasore district is one of the worst railway accidents in decades. At least 288 people were killed and more than 1,200 were injured in the accident.

Apart from helping the train tragedy victims, he will also use the prize money for his personal expenses in his home construction and for some of his relatives who are in need.

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Mohammad, who works as a chef at a hotel in Abu Dhabi City and earns around Dh2,000 a month, had earlier tried his luck at different raffle draws in the past but to no avail, the report said.

"I am flying home on June 25. I have become a father now. I will be meeting my baby girl. She has brought this luck," an ecstatic Mohammad was quoted as saying.

According to him, "life is a game" which he will continue to play. "I will keep playing Dream Island's scratch card games. My other friends and cousins also play it and have won," he added. (PTI)