‘Kurup’ model murder – Nayak bought car a month before faking own death

The police found that Nayak's personal mobile phone was being used and subsequently tracked it to Pune.

Medak: Pathloth Dharma Nayak had worked out a meticulous plan to fake his death, put a body charred beyond recognition in his own car, and claim a huge sum of money as insurance.

However, the entire plot, which has striking resemblance to the real life incident-based Malayalam movie Kurup, fell apart after the police found that his personal mobile phone was being used and subsequently tracked it to Pune, from where Nayak was nabbed on Tuesday.

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According to investigation so far, Nayak was found to have bought the second-hand Honda Amaze car on January 2. The same car was the one in which the charred body – now said to be of his driver – found on January 9. The car was bought through a popular mobile application. One of Nayak’s colleagues in his section at the Vigilance department at the Secretariat said Nayak had distributed sweets to them on January 2 or 3, informing them that he had bought a car. From January 5 onwards, he went on leave.

Police have also recovered CCTV footage in which the car is seen proceeding towards the crime spot in Venkatapuram village on January 8 at 11pm.

The next day, after the partially charred body was found, his friends and villagers had raised doubts whether the body was actually of Nayak. However, his wife Neela and his elder sister identified it as of Nayak, following which a funeral following all traditions was held.

The first cracks in Nayak’s alleged plot appeared when the police received a complaint from unknown persons on the driver who Nayak allegedly killed. Launching investigation into this, and while trying to locate Nayak’s phone, police found the phone was active in Pune. He was in contact with his wife, sister and a couple of others in the family since then. The police have reportedly taken them into custody as part of the inquiry and are also making efforts to identify the driver whose burnt body was found in the car.

Though there is talk among the villagers that Nayak was eligible for an insurance claim of about Rs.7 crore, the police have not confirmed this.

The incident, which has shocked the villagers, bears an uncanny resemblance to the real life incident on which the Malayalam movie Kurup is based. The incident revolves around the story of Sukumara Kurup of Alappuzha in Kerala, which began on January 21, 1984, when Kurup, along with his co-brother Bhaskara Pillai, his driver Ponnappan and aide Shahu, allegedly murdered a man named Chacko in an attempt to fake Kurup’s own death and thereby claim a life insurance amount of Rs.8 lakh. The plot was soon exposed by the police, who arrested Bhaskara Pillai, Ponnappan and Shahu. However, Kurup went absconding, and is still missing, becoming India’s longest wanted fugitive.