Indian-origin family in US returns USD 1 million discarded ticket to winner, wins hearts for honesty
New York, May 25: A woman in the US state of Massachusetts threw away her shot at USD 1 million, but as luck would it, she got a second chance at the fortune, thanks to an Indian-origin family who returned the discarded lottery ticket to their long-time customer, earning appreciation for their honesty.
Lea Rose Fiega bought a Diamond Millions scratch-off ticket in March at Lucky Stop, a store owned by the Indian-origin family in Southwick, where she was a regular customer.
"I was in a hurry, on lunch break, and just scratched it real quick, and looked at it, and it didn't look like a winner, so I handed it over to them to throw away, Fiega said on Monday.
But the ticket was not fully scratched off and it sat in a pile in the store for 10 days until Abhi Shah, son of the store owners, noticed the unfinished USD 30 ticket in the trash, the New York Post reported.
Abhi said the winning ticket was sold by his mother Aruna Shah to one of their regular customers.
One evening, I was going through the tickets from the trash and [noticed] that she didn't scratch the number. I scratched the number and it was USD 1 million underneath the ticket, Abhi was quoted as saying by the local TV station WWLP.
I was a millionaire for a night, he joked.
Abhi said he initially thought of buying a Tesla car, but later decided to return the winning ticket.
I mean I had USD 1 million in my hand and on the other hand I wanted to do something good, he said.
The family said it was not an easy decision to return the ticket.
We didn't sleep two nights, said Maunish Shah, owner of Lucky Spot.
He called my mom, grandparents in India, they said, Give it back, we don't want that money,' Maunish said.
The family then decided to return the ticket. Since the customer visited the store often, they knew where to find her.
The younger Shah came to find Fiega at work and told her his parents wanted to see her, according to the lottery winner.
I said I'm working,' and he said no you have to come over'. So, I went over there and that's when they told me. I was in total disbelief. I cried, I hugged them, Fiega said.
The other customers of the store are not surprised that the Shahs did the right thing.
They're just purely good people. You can tell by just talking to them, one customer was quoted as saying by WBZ TV, a CBS-owned-and-operated television station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts.
The family is now fielding congratulatory calls and interview requests from across the country.
If I had kept that million, I wouldn't have been this famous. So, I'm glad I gave it back, Abhi said.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
