India, Sept. 19 -- A 30-year-old auto-rickshaw driver, who broke his son's piggybox to buy a Rs.500 lottery ticket, won the Rs.25 crore Onam bumper lottery first prize in Kerala on Sunday.

The winning number was selected by state finance minister K N Balagopal in a lucky draw function held earlier in the day at Gorky Bhavan in the capital.

"Initially, I could not believe it and asked my wife to double-check. My god, my number TJ -750605 won the first prize," K Anoop, a resident of Sreevaraham in the capital, said, adding that he bought the ticket on Saturday night from the lottery stalls of one of his relatives near the Pazhavangadi Ganapati temple in the city.

"I was short of money and was forced to take rest from my son's piggy box. ...