Kochi: 33 years later, fresh warrant to nab Sukumara Kurup

Kochi: The Sukumara Kurup case remains a mystery even after 33 years.  The police had virtually closed the sensational murder case but  a  court has issued a fresh arrest warrant against the absconder. The Mavelikara first class judicial magistrate issued the order on December 2, 2016 directing the Crime Branch to arrest and produce Kurup  before the court.   

Sukumara Kurup,  the prime suspect in the Chacko murder case,  has been giving Kerela police nightmares ever since the incident that occurred on  January 22, 1984.

The  case is one of the longest  in the judicial history of Kerala. The police have been looking for him after  he murdered Chacko, a film representative   to claim '8 lakh as insurance money.  

The court directed the detective inspector of CBCID, Special Investigation Team, Thiruvananthapuram, to arrest the accused.

The police refused to make an official comment on the development. “I took charge only recently and  will look into the matter and inform the details,”  said IG S. Sreejith. As per the case records,  Kurup was  38  when the crime was committed.

Chacko was strangled and his body was burnt inside an Ambassador car at  Kunnam near Mavelikkara.

Sukumara Kurup is suspected to  have gone  abroad after the incident, while two of his accomplices-- driver Ponnappan and brother-in-law Bhaskar Pillai-- underwent imprisonment for life.

Kurup was an executive with a marine petrol company in Abu Dhabi. He got himself insured  for '8 lakh  in Abu Dhabi and then planned to fake his death to claim the money. Initially, Kurup with his brother and driver decided to arrange for a  body from a cemetery but they could not find one matching Kurup's physical appearance and subsequently killed Chacko.