Kerala Human sacrifice case: 3 sent to 14-day judicial custody

A local court in Kochi on Wednesday sent three people accused of killing two women allegedly as part of a "ritualistic human sacrifice" in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, to two weeks judicial custody.

The accused couple -- Bhagaval Singh and his wife Laila --used to run a massage centre near Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district in their house. Their agent Mohammed Shafi had in June and September, brought the two women to the house, where they were brutally murdered by the couple.

The two women, who had earned their daily bread selling lottery tickets on the streets, were allegedly sacrificed by the accused to settle the financial issues of the couple and bring prosperity in their life, they said.

The chopped body parts of the deceased were exhumed from the premises of the couple's house at Elanthoor village in Pathanamthitta later in the day.

According to police, the victims, said to be in their near 50s, were natives of Kadavanthara and Kalady nearby.

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.

The first woman, who had gone missing, was Kalady native, living there with her partner for some time and a missing complaint was filed by her daughter on August 17.

The other woman, originally from Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, went missing on August 17, as per the complaint of her sister.

The body parts of the victims were cut into pieces before being buried in two locations at Elanthoor, police said, quoting the confession by the accused.

Those arrested were identified as Bhagaval Singh, reportedly a traditional massage therapist and healer, his wife Laila. They both were natives of Thiruvalla. Also, Rasheed alias Muhammand Shafi, a Perumbavoor native, who was suspected to have lured and brought the now-deceased women to the house of the couple where the sacrifice was said to have been done.

"During our investigation regarding the missing woman from Kadavanthara, we came to know that she was killed in that couple's house in Thiruvalla and her body was buried after being cut into pieces there. It was a human sacrifice for financial benefit of that couple," Kochi City Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam told PTI.

On further interrogation, it was also found that this was not the lone case, but another woman was also allegedly sacrificed, in the same house in June.

"It was also at the same house...by the same couple...and the woman was brought by the same person. The third person had not only played an agent role (in both these cases) but was also instrumental in getting this done. He convinced the couple that this should be done," he said, adding that the bodies were not in one shape as they had been made into pieces and buried.

Further details can be divulged after exhumation and inquest, said IG (south zone) P Prakash.

"Prima facie, it was a case of murder for financial gains through black magic and human sacrifice. The police will look into all aspects and details," he added.

Both the women, economically disadvantaged, were reportedly lured by Rasheed under the pretext of acting in porn films and promising to pay them a hefty amount as remuneration.

But, police are yet to confirm this.

When contacted, a senior police officer said how the victims were brought to Singh's village house by Rasheed was another story.

"This case has several aspects and dimensions to be probed. How they were brought to the crime scene has a slight immoral angle," he told PTI without going into further details.

A police team later brought the accused to the suspected crime scene at Elanthoor with the faces covered to collect evidence.

Shocked neighbours said it was truly hard for them to believe that Singh and his wife were involved in such crimes.

"He belonged to a traditional vaidyar (healer) family and had a good reputation so far. He was very active in the socio-cultural arena also. We do not know how he and his family got involved in such a heinous crime," a neighbour told a TV channel.

Shafi has been named as the first accused, followed by Singh and Laila.

While Laila has been sent to the Women's Jail, in Kochi, the other two will be housed at the Kakkanad Jail, also in Ernakulam district.

Kochi Police Commissioner C.H. Nagaraju said that the two women were killed and buried by the couple as part of the ritualistic human sacrifice.

While Singh has been a popular traditional physician (vaidyan) in the area running the massage centre for long, with Laila -- his second wife -- assisting him.

Expressing shock over the killings, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said only those with a sick mindset could commit such crimes. Black magic and witchcraft rituals could only be seen as a challenge to civilised society.

Meanwhile, Vijayan said the police have made it clear that the murders were executed as part of superstition.

"Vigilant investigation of a missing case by the police has led to the unfolding of the twin murder," he said adding that abducting and killing people for wealth and superstitious beliefs is a crime, which is beyond imagination in Kerala.

Noting that police would take stringent measures against the guilty, the CM also urged everyone in society to come forward to identify such evil practices and bring them to public notice.

National and state women's commissions strongly condemned the alleged black magic murder and sought stringent action against the accused.

Rekha Shamra, Chairperson of National Commission for Women, sought a detailed action-taken-report from state DGP Anil Kant within a week.

Meanwhile, Kerala State Human Rights Commission registered a case on its own into the shocking incident based on the media reports.