KOLLAM: Forty-year-old Pookunju will never forget the day October 12, in his life. He is yet to come to terms with the turn of incidents that unfolded in a span of hours.
At 2 pm, he was served a bank attachment notice as he was unable to pay back the loan amount of around Rs 12 lakh. Just after one-and-a-half hour he gets a call from his brother --- that he won a lottery of 70 lakh.
A resident of Mynagapally's Palamootil, Pookunju is a fish seller. The 40-year-old has been supporting his family by selling fish on his motorcycle.
Eight years ago, Pookunju had taken a loan of Rs 7.45 lakh from Corporation Bank to build a house.
Since then, he has been struggling to pay back the loan amount. Now he has an outstanding debt of about Rs 12 lakh including the interest.
Upon getting the bank's attachment notice, he was worried about what to do next. He was almost on the verge of losing his house.
However, at around 3.30 pm, he had the most unexpected turn of events. He was fortunate enough to win the top prize in the Akshaya lottery.
Yusuf Kunju, his father, frequently buys lotteries. However, Pookunju rarely purchases lottery tickets.
On Tuesday he had bought a lottery ticket from Gopala Pillai, a lottery vendor in Plamoottil market.
After confirming the ticket number, he went to his wife and kids to share the good news with them.