42 years on, Sukumara Kurup mystery returns with Brunei ‘sighting’ — and a photo twist - The Indian Express

**Sukumara Kurup’s 42‑Year‑Old Mystery Re‑ignites After Brunei “Sighting”**

A fresh lead in the long‑running Sukumara Kurup case surfaced this week when an online post claimed that a man resembling the fugitive was seen in Brunei, prompting Kerala’s Home Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to ask the state Crime Branch to verify the report. The post was accompanied by a photograph that quickly went viral, with many social‑media users speculating that the notorious criminal—who vanished after being linked to the 1998 murder of businessman Chacko Kumar—had finally been located abroad. The Crime Branch immediately opened a “sighting verification” cell, deploying officers to examine passport records, immigration data and any possible local contacts in Brunei.

The purported breakthrough soon hit a snag. Members of Kurup’s family in Thrissur, who have long maintained that the fugitive is either dead or in hiding, identified the man in the photograph as a relative of theirs, not the wanted criminal. The family’s clarification was supported by facial‑recognition experts hired by *The Print*, who found a high degree of similarity to an elderly cousin who lives in Kerala. Consequently, the Brunei lead was dismissed as a false alarm, and the Crime Branch has now redirected its efforts toward more credible intelligence, including tips from informants in the Gulf region.

Legal analysts note that the case’s longevity raises complex questions about presumption of death under Indian law. Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act allows a person missing for seven years to be presumed dead, yet the Central Bureau of Investigation continues to list Kurup as “absconding” and has issued a fresh reward for information leading to his arrest. The resurgence of interest—fueled by media speculation and occasional “sightings”—underscores the difficulty of closing a high‑profile case that has remained open for more than four decades, while also reminding authorities of the need for rigorous verification before publicizing unsubstantiated leads.