Interpol Red Corner notices serve no purpose, 8 fugitives from Kerala still at large

PTI, Feb 8, 2023, 11:14 AM IST

Kerala still has eight fugitives, including three wanted terrorists and a woman, who are roaming free even after issuance of red corner notices against their names by the Interpol.

The list also includes two notorious fugitives — Sukumara Kurup and Dr Edadi Omana — who have been under cover for several years.

It remains a mystery that many of these red corner alerts were issued several years ago, some even decades ago and the international police agencies have still failed to catch hold of the accused.

Once a Red Corner notice is issued by Interpol, the details of the criminals at large are shared with the immigration officers in airports across the world, making it impossible for one to travel from one country to the other.

According to CBI sources, an Interpol division of the investigating agency based in Delhi follows up the red corner notices issued from India.

”This division writes to other countries to share the information once the accused’ whereabouts are traced by our investigation agencies. However, many countries do not reply or send back the requests with various queries,” a CBI official on request of anonymity told PTI.

He said there are several conditions with regard to exchange of information about fugitives.

”So technically, only the paperworks remains and any tangible information is hard to get by from foreign countries,” the officer added.

The local police are also in possession of these records and are supposed to track down these criminals.

The Interpol Red Corner notice list has the names from Kerala including that of Mohammed Haneefa (45) from Mongam in Malappuram, who was accused of rioting with dangerous weapons and attempts to murder; Sudhin Kumar Sreedharan (56) from Keezhattingal, Thiruvananthapuram, accused of murder; Sukumaran Sivarama Kurup (74) from Chengannur, Alappuzha, accused of murder and destruction of evidence; and Cheriyaveettil Saddique (44) from Nayanmarmoola, Kasaragod, accused of criminal conspiracy and cheating.

It also includes names of Kochupeedikayil Sabir (42), from Marakkarkandy, Kannur, accused of planting an explosive and terrorism; Chanamparambil Mohammed Bashir (61), from Alwaye, Ernakulam, accused of terrorism; Kolanjana Mohammed Rafeeq (34), from Kayyur, Kasaragod, accused of murder; and Dr Edadi Omana (69), from Payyannur, Kannur accused of abduction, murder, and destruction of evidence.

In the list, one of Kerala’s most infamous fugitives Sukumara Kurup has been absconding since 1984. He was charged with the murder of Chacko in order to fake his own death to claim an insurance sum of Rs 8 lakh. Kurup committed the offence with the help of his co-brother, his driver and another friend. Chacko was abducted, tortured, poisoned, and strangled to death before his body was burnt inside Kurup’s car at Mavelikkara.

Police managed to arrest the accomplices of Kurup but could never trace him. The case was closed in 1996, after searching for him in vain for 12 years, with a note suggesting that Kurup would be living in a foreign country in a fake identity.

Some officers say that Kurup was suffering from a serious cardiac problem and could have died by now. But so far no country has ever contacted CBI, the Interpol representative agency from India, with details of Kurup even decades after issuance of the Red Corner notice by Interpol.

Dr Omana is also nearing the status of Kurup as she has been absconding for the last 16 years after she killed her estranged lover P Muraleedharan. She had poisoned Muraleedharan at her residence in Payyannur in 1996. She then chopped his body into several pieces, stuffed them into a suitcase, and carried it all the way to Ooty in Tamil Nadu to dispose of them.

She had chopped the victim’s body with a surgeon’s precision and stuffed the body parts in small packets. She then stuffed the suitcase in the boot of her car and drove to Ooty. Her idea was to dump each packet at different locations in Ooty. However, police got a whiff and the woman was arrested.

She was housed in the Madras Central Prison for some days. She then managed to secure the bail and escaped after that. Police believed that she escaped to a foreign country and a red corner notice was issued. But no information regarding her came to the police after that.

Three of the terror accused in the list are also dangerous fugitives, who were part of some inter-state terror operations. Chanamparambil Mohammed Bashir is accused in a terror case where his co-accused are similar extremists from Hyderabad. One of his co-accused Taher Ansari (71), a resident of Hyderabad, is also absconding for several years.