Srinagar, Mar 23:  Eight months ago Manzoor Ahmed Khan of Mammar Pakhtoon Patii, Ganderbal found himself on top of the world when some unidentified caller informed him about him winning a lottery of Rs 25 lakhs though a lucky draw, little did he know that it would turn into nightmare and would rob him of everything.
 “I was on my routine work when someone from outside J&K number called me. I felt very happy and instantly called my uncle to let him know about the offer,” Khan told Greater Kashmir. 
 “Uncle suggested that I should grab the offer and follow their instructions,” he added.
 Khan said the caller told him to deposit Rs 15000 in an account as a tax for the prize money.
 “I borrowed money from some people and deposited it as per the instructions of the caller on the same day,” he added.
 Unidentified caller had told Khan to deposit the money in the account no 3162651703 on the name of Mehtab Alam in the State Bank of India (SBI), but Khan never knew that he was falling in a trap laid hundreds of kilometers away from here in Mumbai.
 Khan said that after every three or four days some person would assure him that the money is ready to be deposited into his account and they are waiting for the tax clearance from the government. “Again they would instruct me to deposit the money in the same or some different account,” he added.
 On asking Khan did he ever ask them why he was chosen for the lucky draw which he had never subscribed for? “They told me that it was through the SIM card numbers of the mobile subscribers which were selected on all India level. I trusted them as it can happen. ”
 Khan said that he was asked to deposit Rs 40,000 in the account No. 39380001101118601of Punjab National Bank on the name of Haseena Khatoon.
 “I even deposited Rs 6,000 rupees through recharge cards meant for dish TV’s in the account of Vikas Kumar,” he added.
 Khan said that since June last year he has been depositing the money in different accounts with a hope that he would get the lottery prize of Rs 25 lakhs but he has actually turned up losing around Rs 6 lakhs.  “I am a carpenter; it is a huge amount for me. It was not possible for me to arrange such a huge amount on a regular basis. So I sold 10 Marlas of land,” he said. 
 Even after selling the land, Khan said that he had to borrow the money from his friends and relatives to deposit money in the accounts of cheaters with the hope that they would deposit the lottery prize in his account.
 “I approached police station Ganderbal but officials declined to help me,” alleged Khan.
According to reports many people are receiving calls, SMSs and Emails from last one year claiming that said person has won whooping amounts through lucky draws.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 IST