Palakkad: The Kerala State Lottery Department has confirmed that four men from Tamil Nadu's Tirupur have won the first prize of the Onam bumper. The four friends shared the amount for the ticket to hit the jackpot worth Rs 25 crore. The lucky winners are reportedly identified as Pandyaraj, Natarajan, Kuppuswami and Ramaswami.
They handed over the ticket to the lottery department here on Thursday.
Sources close to the lottery department revealed that the winners have requested to keep their details confidential. It is learnt that the winners are camping in Thiruvananthapuram.
The four men had reportedly taken three tickets from Palakkad's Walayar on September 18. One of these tickets carrying the number TE 230662 won big in the draw held on Wednesday.
The Rs 25 crore first prize offered for the Thiruvonam Bumper is the highest prize in any lottery in the country. The tickets are priced at Rs 500 apiece.
The first-prize winner will receive around Rs 15.75 crore after a 30 per cent income-tax deduction (6.75 cr), and 10 per cent agency commission (2.5 cr).