Two women from two different localities in Ernakulam district were taken to Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta and ritually murdered. Later, their bodies dismembered and buried as part of a black magic ‘sacrifice’.
The arrested accused have been identified as Muhammed Shafi alias Rashid, and the husband-wife pair of Bhagaval Singh and Laila.
“Prime accused Shafi used FB to find people with financial difficulties. He found Bhagaval Singh and Laila, a couple interested in human sacrifice. Shafi had used FB on his wife’s phone but she didn’t know,” ANI quoted Kochi DCP S Sasidharan, chief investigator of Kerala ‘human sacrifice’ case, as saying.
He further said that they are also investigating if any sexual exploitation has been done by the prime accused Shafi.
“There are 8 cases registered against Shafi under various offences apart from this human sacrifice ritual case,” Sasidharan added.
Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said that they didn’t find anything earlier when they questioned Shafi, the prime accused.
“Scientific investigation led us to Pathanamthitta. Shafi is the main conspirator and a pervert, we got to know while investigating. There’s a possibility that the accused ate parts of body after killing the victims. It is being investigated, but not confirmed yet. We are investigating whether there are more accused and if more such cases happened,” Nagaraju said.
According to the official, the murders took place on June 6 and September 26.
The two women, who had earned their daily bread selling lottery tickets on the streets here, were allegedly sacrificed by the accused to settle the financial issues of the couple and bring prosperity in their life, said official.
Meanwhile, residents of Elanthoor village in Pathanamthitta were surprised by Tuesday’s turn of events as the accused Bhagaval Singh and his wife enjoyed a spotless reputation. READ MORE
Accused Muhammed Shafi was arrested in 2020 rape case
It was not the first time Muhammed Shafi alias Rashid (52) had committed a heinous crime. In 2020, he had brutally raped a 75-year-old woman at Puthencruz and the police had arrested him. The woman was hospitalized and ended up in the ICU; later she returned to normal life after several days of treatment. When this incident occurred, Shafi was working as a truck driver. READ MORE
Kerala human sacrifice case: Accused couple ‘confesses’ to eating flesh of women victims