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Unfulfilled plans continue to haunt Sukumara Kurup’s house
Though the Ambalappuzha North grama panchayat proposed the conversion of the abandoned property into a village office/homoeopathic clinic/veterinary hospital, no progress has been made yet
Around 150 metres from National Highway 66 at Vandanam in Alappuzha lies a two-storey unfinished ‘bungalow’ uncared for. The 1,800 sq ft building on 20 cents of land, the construction of which got underway in the first half of the 1980s, was to be the dream home of Sukumara Kurup, one of the most notorious fugitives in the State.
More than 40 years after Kurup and his accomplices killed film representative N.J. Chacko and the former went absconding, the move to convert the half-built abandoned property into government offices seems to have come a cropper.
It was Ambalappuzha North grama panchayat, a few years ago, first proposed that the house be converted into a village office/homoeopathic clinic/veterinary hospital.
“In 2017, the panchayat passed a unanimous resolution urging the government to take over the building. Further, I submitted a memorandum at Navakerala Sadas (the State government’s public outreach programme) in December 2023. The village office is currently functioning in a rented building. If the government takes over the house, the village office and some other offices could be shifted there. Though Revenue department officials visited the property, unfortunately, no progress has been made,” says S. Haris, president, Ambalappuzha North grama panchayat.
Kurup, his relative Bhaskara Pillai, driver Ponnappan and aide Shahu, murdered Chacko, who reportedly bore a resemblance to Kurup, on January 21, 1984, near Mavelikara. Kurup allegedly murdered to fake his death to claim life insurance to the tune of ₹8 lakh. After killing Chacko, his body was burned. Though the police nabbed the other three, Kurup absconded and remains untraced while abandoning the seven-bedroom structure.
Attempted to claim ownership
According to Mr. Haris, the property remains in the name of one Laila Beevi who no one knows. Kurup, according to officials, had not procured the mutation certificate. The fugitive’s family had attempted to claim ownership of the land and house without success as they failed to produce proper documents.
Revenue department cited several reasons, including ongoing court proceedings, that prevent them from going ahead with the proposal. Alappuzha district administration officials said the file pertaining to the proposed conversion of the house into government offices had not reached the Collectorate.
Mr. Haris says he will again approach Revenue Minister K. Rajan with the proposal.
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