India: Three arrested for grisly 'human sacrifice' of two women in Kerala for prosperity

Two women were murdered, their bodiescut into pieces and buried in an alleged case of human sacrifice in a shocking incident related to black magic in India's southern state of Kerala. As quoted by news agency ANI, a local police official said on Tuesday the women were 'brutally' murdered allegedly in "human sacrifice" rituals within 24 hours after they went missing in Pathanamthitta.

According to Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju, three persons, including a woman, were arrested. They were suspected of luring and killing the women allegedly in human sacrifice.Officials saidthe murders took place on June 6 and September 26 and the case was registered by Kadavanthra police in Kochi after report of a missing woman was filed in September.

The accused, identified as Shafi and the husband-wife pair of Bhagaval Singh and Laila, were sent to two weeks of judicial custody by a local court on Wednesday.

Ernakulam City Commissioner of Police C Nagaraju said, “Mohammed Shafi, the prime accused in the human sacrifice case in which two women were allegedly murdered at a house at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta District, is a pervert.”

He said Shafi has got many cases, including theft and rape, against him, reported news agency PTI. "At least, 10 cases have been registered against him in the last 15 years. In one of the rape cases, a 75-year-old was raped and injured with a knife in various parts of her body. In this case of Elanthoor, the two victims were injured in private parts in a similar manner," Nagaraju said.

"Basically, he is a pervert and a sadist... Causing injury, harm and death. He will make up any story, trap anyone," the commissioner added.

The senior police official said all the three accused have direct participation in both the murders but the accused couple did not have a history of crime.

The news agency PTI reported the commissioner saying on Wednesday that Shafi, who is a history-sheeter, used the irrational fear of the accused couple and convinced them that human sacrifice would solve their financial woes.

Nagaraju said the missing case of one of the women, Padma from Elamkulam, resulted in identifying the horrific crimes.

Reports mentioned that Mohammed Shafi brought the two women to Bhagaval's house, who along with his wife used to run a massage centre near Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district.

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#WATCH: 'Human sacrifice' in Kerala | All three accused being brought out of Ernakulam District Sessions Court. All of them have been remanded to judicial custody till October 26.

The three accused had allegedly killed two women as 'human sacrifices' pic.twitter.com/UI6SDvbDCC — ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2022

"The main suspect is Shafi who brought the women. His aim was money. It is being investigated whether the accused Shafi approached more women for a 'human sacrifice ritual'," Nagaraju said, adding that the CCTV footage was helpful in nabbing the accused.

The women were killed, their bodies cut into several pieces and then they were buried in the premises of the couple's house in the village.The chopped body parts of the deceased were exhumed from Elanthoor village in Pathanamthitta later in the day.

The women had gone missing in September and June this year and the eventual probe, based on their mobile phone details and tower locations, unravelled the story of human sacrifice.

According to the police, two dismembered bodies were found buried inside the premises of a house in the Pathanamthitta district. "We think that the couple Bhagaval Singh and Laila performed human sacrifice for economic prosperity," the official said.

National and state women's commissions strongly condemned the incident and sought stringent action against the accused.

Chairperson of National Commission for Women Rekha Sharmasought a detailed action-taken-report from Kerala DGP Anil Kant within a weekwhileKerala State Human Rights Commission registered a case on its own on the basis ofmedia reports.

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