Archive · 28 Aug 2026
Kerala Orders Probe Into Reports Sukumara Kurup Lives in Brunei
Sukumara Kurup disappeared after Chacko was killed in Kerala in 1984.
Police believe Chacko was killed because he looked like Kurup.
The plan allegedly involved making people think Kurup had died and collecting insurance money.
Kurup has never been found and is still wanted.
New reports say an older man who looks like him may be living in Brunei with a different name.
Kerala’s Home Minister asked the Crime Branch to investigate these reports.
Police also contacted Interpol to help check whether the claims are real.
However, police have not independently confirmed the information.
Some people in Brunei think the man could be someone else from Thrissur.
Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala ordered the Crime Branch to verify reports that fugitive Sukumara Kurup is alive in Brunei under another identity.
Kerala Police contacted Interpol, while officials stressed that the claims remain unverified rumors.
Reports said an elderly man resembling Kurup was living near the Malaysia-Brunei border, working in construction and using a different passport.
Checks among Brunei’s Malayali community cast doubt on the man’s identity and suggested he might be someone from Thrissur.
Kurup disappeared after the alleged 1984 murder of Chacko, which investigators say was part of a plan to fake Kurup’s death and claim insurance money.
- Who
- Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, the Kerala Crime Branch, Kerala Police, Interpol and fugitive Sukumara Kurup are central to the report.
- What
- Authorities are investigating reports that Kurup is alive in Brunei under an assumed identity and using another passport.
- When
- Kurup disappeared after Chacko’s murder on January 22, 1984; the latest reports emerged while police were preparing to close the long-pending case.
- Where
- The original murder occurred in Mavelikara, Kerala, while the reported sighting is near the Malaysia-Brunei border in Brunei.
- Why
- The probe was ordered to determine whether the reports about Kurup’s survival and identity are genuine.
Reports Suggest Kurup Is Alive
Police Checks Remain Skeptical
Identity of the Brunei resident
Reports Suggest Kurup Is Alive
Media reports claim that an elderly man resembling Kurup lives near the Malaysia-Brunei border under a false name, uses another passport, works in construction and remains in contact with relatives in Kerala.
Police Checks Remain Skeptical
Police said they had no independent confirmation, while checks among Brunei’s Malayali community raised doubts and suggested the man could be another person from Thrissur.
Reliability of the claims
Reports Suggest Kurup Is Alive
The reports prompted authorities to revisit the possibility that Kurup has survived and avoided arrest for decades.
Police Checks Remain Skeptical
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the information was currently only rumor and that its veracity had not been established.
Likely case conclusion
Reports Suggest Kurup Is Alive
The new reports argue for continuing efforts to identify the man and determine whether he is Kurup.
Police Checks Remain Skeptical
A special team examining the case was reportedly inclined to conclude that Kurup was no longer alive before the Brunei claims surfaced.
- Investigation authority
- Kerala Crime Branch, directed by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala
- Verification effort
- Kerala Police contacted Interpol to assess the reports
- Reported location
- Brunei, near the Malaysia-Brunei border
- Reported identity
- An elderly man allegedly living under a false name, using another passport and working in construction
- Original incident
- Chacko was murdered on January 22, 1984
- Alleged motive
- A plan to fake Kurup’s death and claim an insurance payout of around Rs 8 lakh
- Case status
- The Crime Branch reopened the case three months earlier, but police were reportedly preparing to close the 42-year-old investigation
