He was elated when he first came to learn about it, winning Rs 250 million (£2.9 million) in a government lottery in the southern Indian state of Kerala earlier this month.
But Anoop's joy was short-lived and now, the autorickshaw driver regrets winning it. Reason: The overwhelming requests for financial help pouring in.
Within a week of getting the jackpot, the youth posted a video urging strangers to not bother him and his family to extend financial support, BBC reported.
"I wish I hadn't won," Anoop said. "The third prize may have been better."
In the video, the man even said that he was considering changing his residence so that he could avoid excessive public attention.
When he won the prize, Anoop made the headlines overnight as it was the highest ever offered for a lottery in Kerala.
He bought the ticket on September 17, a day before he was set to fly to Malaysia for employment, after breaking his son's piggy-bank, the report added.
As their fortune changed, Anoop and his family came to the limelight. He said in the video that he was "overjoyed" when the moment came.
"There were people and cameras at the house and we were happy," he said.
But soon, the story changed.
"I can't leave the house, I can't go anywhere. My child is ill and I can't take him to the doctor," he said, adding that people started coming to house every morning.
Anoop, who will get Rs 150 million in hand after the government's tax deductions, said he keeps on telling people that he has not got the money yet but in vain. He also said that he and his family members have started staying with relatives to escape people's attention.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government has said that it will organise a day-long training session for Anoop on financial management so that he could learn to utilise the money that he won, the report added.






The couple during their visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra earlier this yearxx





SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 28: Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures, speaks onstage during day two of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 at Moscone Center on October 28, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch)Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 18: AngelList Co-Founder and CEO Naval Ravikant speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2017 at Pier 48 on September 18, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 14: Managing Director of General Catalyst Hemant Taneja speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016 at Pier 48 on September 14, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)Getty Images
CEO of Micron Technology Sanjay Mehrotra, listens to US President Joe Biden speak about manufacturing, at the SRC Arena and Events Center of Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York on October 27, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)Getty Images
Google CEO Sundar Pichai looks on during the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP via Getty Images)Getty Images
Indian born Abhijit Banerjee, laureate of Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019, speaks during a press conference with the Nobel physics, chemistry and economics laureates at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, on December 7, 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)Getty Images
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 12: Padma Lakshmi attends Gold House's Lunar New Year Gold Celebration at Chinese Tuxedo on February 12, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Gold House)Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 10: Sanjit Biswas attends Day 2 of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2013 at San Francisco Design Center on September 10, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch) Getty Images
Neerja Sethi (Photo credits: iMDB)
Jay Chaudhry(Photo credits:
Romesh T Wadhwani(Photo credits: www.csis.org)

