Sukumara Kurup alive, hiding in Brunei, claims retired cop; prompts Crime Branch probe

Just as the 42-year hunt for Kerala's most elusive fugitive appeared to be inching towards an end finally, a dramatic new claim has revived the mystery surrounding Sukumara Kurup.

Ali Akbar, a retired police officer who was once part of the investigation team, has claimed that Kurup is alive and living in Brunei under a false identity. According to Akbar, the fugitive is posing as a person of Indo-Malaysian origin and working in the construction sector there.

Akbar also claimed that Kurup remains in contact with his wife and other relatives, who are all living abroad. He further alleged that Kurup has maintained links with influential political and community leaders, whose intervention helped him evade arrest for decades.

To substantiate his claim, Akbar handed over to the media a photograph purportedly showing Kurup.

The Crime Branch has decided to verify the revelation. Crime Branch chief ADGP H Venkitesh said Interpol would be approached to obtain information about a passport, photograph and mobile phone connection allegedly linked to Kurup. He said a detailed investigation would be launched if the fresh information produces credible leads.

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said he had directed Venkitesh to examine the claim. "The new revelation that Sukumara Kurup is hiding abroad will be investigated. This is a case that has been under investigation by the Crime Branch for years," he said.

The Crime Branch, however, pointed out that Akbar had not shared the information with the investigating agency. "If he has information, shouldn't he be telling the investigating agency rather than the media?" Crime Branch SP Jilson Mathew asked.

The latest claim comes at a crucial stage in the long-running investigation. The Crime Branch had reopened the case three months ago as part of a special drive to clear long-pending cases.

The renewed investigation had led the agency to conclude that Kurup was unlikely to have survived this long, considering his reported heart ailment.

A key lead was the statement of Ratnamma, a native of Chengannur in Alappuzha, who told investigators that she had seen Kurup at a hospital in Jharkhand in 1989. She said Kurup had been admitted to the ICU of a hospital in Bokaro after complaining of chest pain and that she had spoken to him while she was a nursing student there.

Based on her account, investigators concluded that Kurup may have died sometime after 1989. If alive, he would now be 83. His reported heart condition had also led investigators to believe that he was unlikely to have survived for more than three decades after the alleged hospitalisation.

The agency had also found no evidence to support the claim that Kurup had remained in contact with his wife or relatives.

Kurup is the prime accused in the murder of film representative Chacko of Alappattu House in Kuttichira near Thathampally, Alappuzha. Chacko was killed on January 22, 1984, as part of a plot to fraudulently claim an insurance payout of ₹8 lakh. He was set on fire inside a car after being murdered.

Kurup disappeared following the crime and has remained one of Kerala's most wanted fugitives ever since. His disappearance has generated numerous theories, including claims that he changed his appearance and went into hiding in North India or fled abroad.

The Crime Branch conducted extensive searches across several states before expanding the investigation to the Gulf countries, Bhutan and Nepal. None of the efforts succeeded in tracing him.

For Chacko's wife Shanthamma, the latest claim has reopened the pain of a case that has remained unresolved for more than four decades. "Sukumara Kurup is a murderer and he must be brought to justice and given severe punishment. It has been 42 years and he still hasn't been caught. That has troubled all of us. Now that we hear he may be alive, we are anxious all over again. We keep wondering whether he will ever be caught. We cannot do anything to him ourselves. It is for the government and the legal system to bring him to justice," she said.