Sawhney, a home tutor and a resident of Mumbai, couldn't believe she had cracked the jackpot, until the show's host, megastar Amitabh Bachchan hugged her.
"I couldn't believe that I won! Mr. Bachchan had to come and hug me for me to believe that I have won Rs.5 crore. My husband also had to come and tell me so," she told IANS.
The episode featuring her victory will be aired next week.
Her plan is to donate a part of the money for prayer rituals.
"I want to sponsor some rituals of our Punjabi tradition. So, a part of the amount will go there. We will decide what to do with the rest of it later," added the 37-year-old.
She hails from Chandigarh, but Sawhney has been staying in Mumbai since a few years now. Married to a small-time actor who has done some side roles in Hindi films, Sawhney has two daughters.
"We have rented a place in Mumbai and have been staying here since a few years," she said.
In the last season of KBC, Bihar-based Sushil Kumar had won the mega-prize of Rs.5 crore.