| Sukumara Kurup | |
| Birth Name: | P K Gopalakrishna Kurup[1] |
| Birth Date: | 25 May 1946[2] |
| Birth Place: | Cheriyanad, Chengannur, Alappuzha, Kerala, India |
| Spouse: | Sarasamma[3] |
| Criminal Charge: | Murder, Insurance fraud |
| Wanted Since: | 1984 |
Sukumara Kurup (alias Sukumara Pillai) (born as P K Gopalakrishna Kurup) is an Indian fugitive and is one of the most-wanted criminals in the Indian state of Kerala.[4] [5] On 21 January 1984, he, along with his co-brother Bhaskara Pillai, his driver Ponnappan and his aide Shahu, murdered a man named Chacko in an attempt to fake Kurup's own death and thereby claim a life insurance amount of . The subterfuge was soon exposed by the police, who arrested Bhaskara Pillai, Ponnappan and Shahu. However, Kurup absconded from the state in the meantime.[6] Notorious for being India's longest wanted fugitive, Kurup is still missing and untraced since 1984.[7] [1] [8]
Sukumara Kurup (born as P. K. Gopalakrishna Kurup) was born into an upper-class Malayali family as the son of Puthenveettil Shivarama Pillai and his wife, Kurup near Cheriyanad, Travancore (present-day Alappuzha district, Kerala). After completing his studies, he joined the Indian Air Force as an officer, where he recognised as Gopalkrishna Pillai.[9] Later, he left the IAF and moved to the Middle East, becoming an executive with a marine petroleum company in Abu Dhabi, where he known as Sukumara Kurup.
Chacko was forcefully intoxicated, poisoned and strangled to death and later the body was burnt inside an Ambassador car at night near Tannimukkam Puncha in Mavelikara.[10] Sukumara Kurup allegedly committed the crime to fake his own death and claim an insurance amount of, by killing Chacko, who bore a striking resemblance to him. It is assumed that Kurup fled the country after the incident, while two of his three accomplices, driver Ponnappan and brother-in-law Bhaskara Pillai, were sentenced to a life-term imprisonment. His other accomplice, Chinnakkal Shahu, was arrested, but was later made an approver and released. He is the only living eye-witness of the murder of Chacko.[11] According to the police, Sukumara Kurup is still on the list of absconding accused since January 1984.[12] The Chacko murder case is one of the longest-standing cases in the judicial history of Kerala. In 2018, Chacko's wife, Santhamma, told Bhaskaran that she forgives him and the others (including Kurup) when they met near the St Thomas Malankara Syrian Catholic Church at Chengannur.[13]
The Chacko murder case is one case that caught the media's attention during the mid-2000s, when there were reports on Sukumara Kurup lookalikes from various parts of India. Since Kurup's remains still remain untraced, it's unclear as to whether he's dead or alive. Victims of his crime believe he could be alive and well in a foreign country based on what the investigating officer wrote while closing the case after 12 years of search (1984 to 1996): Kurup had fled from the country with the 72 hours head start he got and with possible help from political allies, cause after the murder came to light he was able to narrowly escape multiple times from the police.[14] [15]
However, it is believed by police that Kurup was found multiple times in India under the alias Joshi, and may have already died due to severe cardiac issues. Doctors that had attended him made the prognosis in 1990 that his condition was so bad that after fleeing, he could not have survived for long.[16]
In 1984, the Malayalam film NH 47, directed by Baby, drew inspiration from the Chacko murder case. Sukumaran portrayed the victim under the name Rahim, while T. G. Ravi took on the role of the killer. [17] [18]
In 2016, director Adoor Gopalakrishnan presented another fictional narrative, Pinneyum featuring Dileep and Kavya Madhavan, loosely based on the original incident. [19]
In 2021, Srinath Rajendran directed a crime thriller biopic, Kurup, revolving around Sukumara Kurup. This fictional film stars Dulquer Salmaan as Sudhakara Kurup, Tovino Thomas as the victim (Charlie), and is told from the perspective of investigative officer S.P. Krishnadas I.P.S, a character inspired by the real investigator S.P. Haridas I.P.S. [20] [21]