'I did see Sukumara Kurup, but I never wrote to the police': Retired nurse Rathnamma

ALAPPUZHA: "Look, that man walking there is Shivarama Kurup’s son, Sukumaran. He just came back from the Gulf." It was when her father, Ramakrishnan, pointed out Sukumara Kurup from their courtyard that 18-year-old Rathnamma saw the young man up close. Two days later, she heard the news that Sukumara Kurup was found burnt to death inside a car. That young man's face remained painfully etched in Rathnamma's mind. Soon after, the Chacko murder case and Kurup’s disappearance dominated the news. The murder took place on January 21, 1984.

Rathnamma claims she saw Sukumara Kurup in person in 1988 at Bokaro. Every time the Crime Branch reinvestigates the case, they record her statement. Following the recent reopening of the investigation after Ramesh Chennithala assumed office as the Home Minister, the Intelligence and Crime Branch teams recorded her statement once again.

Meeting at Bokaro Hospital
It was a day in 1988. Rathnamma was a first-year nursing student at the General Hospital in Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand. She learned from a senior student that a Malayalam-speaking patient had been admitted to the hospital with chest pain. Out of curiosity to see a fellow Malayali patient, she went to the ICU. The name on the hospital records was Joshi. When she approached him, she saw the exact same face of Sukumara Kurup that was etched in her memory. The patient, who had a beard, introduced himself as "Joshi" and said he was from Chengannur. He said that he regularly visited Kerala and was familiar with Alappuzha and Chengannur. When Rathnamma mentioned that her home was near Shivarama Kurup’s house in Cheriyanad, he was shocked. His expression changed, and he stopped speaking.

Rathnamma returned to her class, certain that it was Sukumara Kurup. However, she lacked the courage to tell anyone. When she returned to the ICU later that evening, she learned that Joshi had been moved to a ward and had gone missing shortly after. With that, rumours spread that the man was Sukumara Kurup. The Crime Branch arrived at the hospital the following week, but Rathnamma was home on leave at the time. The police first recorded her statement after tracking her down at her home in Chingoli, Cheriyanad.

Rathnamma also dismissed reports that she had written to the police claiming she had seen Sukumara Kurup. After retiring as a nursing supervisor from Bokaro General Hospital last March, she now lives with her husband Shivarajan at her house in Chingoli. They have two children: Abhiraj and Subhadra.

The killer must be punished: Chacko’s son
"I have never seen my father. Since this case has dragged on for 42 years, I doubt if the suspect will ever be caught," says Jithin Chacko (42), son of Chacko from Alappatt Kandathil, Thathampally, who was murdered by Sukumara Kurup.

Jithin stated that like any son, he wants his father's killer to be punished. He added that the stories resurfacing now are the same ones he has heard since childhood. He was already aware of the details shared by nurse Rathnamma. Jithin noted that the investigation team has not summoned him as part of the case, but he is waiting to see if the reinvestigation brings any new findings. He pointed out that they currently do not even know if the accused is alive and are uncertain about the direction the case will take. Chacko was murdered when his wife, Santhamma, was six months pregnant with Jithin.