Sasthamkotta: Nearly three hours after the bank served him an attachment notice, a 40-year-old man won a lottery prize of Rs 70 lakh.

The lady luck has smiled on Pookunju, a resident of Edavanassery at Mynagappally. He has won the first prize of the Akshaya lottery.

Pookunju, who earned a living by selling fish in the northern Mynagappally area on his scooter, faced severe financial hardships. He had taken a loan of Rs 9 lakh from the corporation bank for the construction of his house.

Pookunju was served the notice by 12 noon on Wednesday after he defaulted on loan repayment. He has to repay around Rs 12 lakh, including the interest. With no means to pay back the money, he was worried about losing his home and having to take refuge on the street. But in the most unexpected turn of events, his fortunes changed by 3pm.

His father Yusuf Kunju buys lottery tickets regularly. But Pookunju does not usually buy lottery tickets. He had bought the lucky ticket from Gopala Pillai, a lottery seller at Plamoottil market the other day.

Mumtaz is the wife of Pookunju, and Muneer and Muhsina are their children.