Guwahati: A Kerala fisherman who was in arrears on a loan won the lotto on the same day that he received a notice from the bank threatening to attach his home, which may be an interesting example of luck being on his side.
Pookunju, a fisherman in Kerala’s Kollam district, won Rs 70 lakh in the Akshaya lottery run by the state government.
On October 12, as he was getting ready for the day, he purchased a lottery ticket that would have awarded him Rs 70 lakh at around 1 pm. Little did he realise that his attempt to test his luck after arriving home that day would make him a millionaire in a matter of days. He was informed that he had received an attachment notice from the Union Bank Karunagapally due to his failure to repay a loan of Rs. 9 lakh that he had taken out to construct his home.
The fisherman, who is married with two kids, was indecisive about selling the house since he was in despair.
However, his destiny smiled to him, showing kindness to the fisherman. After receiving the bank notice, his brother called him shortly after to inform him that the lottery ticket winner had been declared and was Pookunju himself, holding Akshaya Lottery No. AZ 907042.
The following day, he returned to the same bank to pick up the winnings of Rs 70 lakh that it had sent him with an attachment notice.
Pookunju now intends to pay off the loan, which is close to a million.
He intends to launch a small business to make a living.