[5][6] On 21 January 1984, he, along with his brother-in-law Bhaskara Pillai, his driver Ponnappan and his aide Shahu, murdered a man named Chacko in an attempt to fake Kurup's own death and thereby claim a life insurance amount of INR 800,000 (approximately USD 80,000 in 1984).

[6][9] Chacko was forcefully intoxicated, poisoned and strangled to death and later the body was burnt inside an Ambassador car at night near Tannimukkam Puncha in Mavelikara.

In 2018, Chacko's wife, Santhamma, told Bhaskaran that she forgives him and the others (including Kurup) when they met near the St Thomas Malankara Syrian Catholic Church at Chengannur.

[19][20] In 2016, director Adoor Gopalakrishnan presented another fictional narrative, Pinneyum featuring Dileep and Kavya Madhavan, loosely based on the original incident.

This fictional film stars Dulquer Salmaan as Sudhakara Kurup, Tovino Thomas as the victim (Charlie), and is told from the perspective of investigative officer S.P.