Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, May 25 2009:
In what could be construed as a strange and funny happening, a man has won the first prize of a lottery organised by a well-known football club in Imphal but the club has stubbornly refused to pay the prize money on a flimsy ground.
Reports received by this newspaper said that one Kshetrimayum Sharatchandra, a resident of Haobam Marak Lourembam Leikai bought a ticket of the 2nd TRAU Lottery organised by the Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) which was earlier scheduled to be drawn on March 27 last but postponed due to some reasons.
The lottery was drawn on April 26, almost one month later.
As the result of the lottery was published in an Imphal-based newspaper on April 29, the number of the prize winning ticket was declared as "A-3445" .
This number happened to be the same number printed on the ticket bought by Ksh Sharatchandra.
The amount of the prize money was projected to be Rs 1,50,000 .
When Sharatchandra went to the office of the TRAU which is located at Kwakeithel and claimed the prize money by producing his ticket, the organisers, who are the office bearers of the TRAU, refused to pay him the prize saying that the agent who sold the ticket to him had not paid the organisers money for the ticket.
But Sharatchandra argued that it was a problem between the organisers and the ticket agent and not his fault, therefore he should be given the prize money.
However, the organisers reportedly stuck to their stand and boldly said that it was the final decision of the TRAU which is binding.
Now the lucky (or unlucky?) winner of the lottery is reportedly looking at legal options to get his prize that's rightfully due to him, sources said.
However, this newspaper could not get confirmation of the allegation from the organisers.