The 'human sacrifice case' in Kerala, which came to light on Tuesday, has shaken the entire country with police unfolding the details of the case every now and then. On Thursday, a report by NDTV stated how CCTV footage from late September led to the arrest of the three accused --- Muhammad Shafi (52), massage therapist Bhagaval Singh (68), and his wife Laila (59).
Hours after that, the Kerala Police said that the postmortem of the bodies of the two deceased, as part of an investigation into the gruesome case at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta district, is likely to conclude on Thursday. The bodies of the victims, Padma and Roseline, were exhumed on October 11 from there.
The women in the shocking human sacrifice case in Kerala had undergone gruesome tortures as the breasts of one of them had been chopped off and the body of the other was cut into 56 pieces by the accused, according to the police remand report filed before a local court here. The primary accused Shafi took undue advantage of the concerns of Singh and Laila over their financial problems.
"The accused conspired to conduct the human sacrifice with an intention to bring prosperity in the life of the second and third accused by pleasing the goddess in favour of Singh and his wife Laila," the remand report had said.
The chopped body parts of the deceased were exhumed from the premises of the couple's house at Elanthoor yesterday.
The first woman, Padma, went missing on September 26 and the probe led to Shafi. On further interrogating him, police found the trio had earlier murdered the second victim in a similar manner in June.
Here is how the case has unfolded so far:
A special investigation team formed
A Special Investigation Team was formed by the Kerala police on Wednesday to probe into the cases related to human sacrifice.
State police chief Anilkant issued an order to form a special team led by Kochi City Deputy Police Commissioner S Sasidharan and Perumbavoor ACP Anooj Paliwal as the chief investigating officer.
The DGP's office said the special team would be directly under the ADGP in charge of law and order.
Court sends the accused to prison
All three accused were produced by police before a court on Wednesday and they were remanded in judicial custody.
Police said they would move the court seeking the custody of the accused for further interrogation.
Advocate B A Aloor, known for representing the accused in sensational cases appeared for the trio.
Speaking to reports on solving the case that became sensational, Kochi City Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam said that Shafi, the prime accused, is a history-sheeter.
He said Shafi faces many cases, including theft and rape, against him. In one of the rape cases, a 75-year-old woman was raped and inflicted injuries on various parts of her body.
The court remanded Shafi, Bhagaval and Laila to 14-day judicial custody.
Post-mortem of the bodies
The bodies of the deceased women will be handed over to the relatives only after a detailed post-mortem and DNA test, hospital sources said.
Sources said the post-mortem in the two cases was complicated as the bodies started decomposing.
Police have asked the police surgeon to provide a detailed report on the number of injuries on the body and the details on all internal organs.
The bodies, which were exhumed on October 11, were brought to Kottayam Medical College that night itself. The DNA test will be conducted at the laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram.
CCTV footage that led to the accused
A CCTV footage from September 26, early this year, led the Kerala Police to the arrest of Shafi, Singh, and Laila in the case. The footage from Kerala's Pathanamthitta provided the first clue to the police when Padma went missing on the same day.
The probe began after the kin of the victim had filed a police complaint.
The footage showed Padma getting into a white Scorpio and later crossing a street while being accompanied by a man, who was later identified as Shafi, the main accused behind the entire act.
Later, the location of Padma's cell phone led the police to the house of the Singhs, who were promised wealth by Shafi against carrying out the brutal killing.
On October 9, the police came upon CCTV footage from the house of their immediate neighbour, Jose Thomas. It showed the parked Scorpio and Padma walking into the house. Following the probe and questioning, the Singhs confessed to having killed Padma and Roselin, who had been missing since June, the police said.
CPI(M) pitches for new legislation to curb superstitious rituals
Strongly condemning the alleged human sacrifice incident reported in the state, the ruling CPI (M) in Kerala has stressed the need for new legislation to curb such superstitious practices and urged strict implementation of the existing laws in this regard.
Such an incident which shocked the human conscience, cannot be prevented by law alone but a mass public movement and awareness should emerge in the society against such practices, the state secretariat of the Left party said in a statement on Wednesday.
The "witchcraft killing", taking place in Elanthoor of Pathanamthitta district, exposed the severity of superstitious beliefs existing in the state and the necessity for a strong fight against the menace, it said.
Quoting figures from the National Crime Records Bureau, the Left party said as many as 73 murders, in connection with superstitious beliefs, had been reported in the country in the last year alone.
No one would have thought that such a situation would prevail in a state like Kerala, it said adding that "the party strongly condemned the incident which shocked the human conscience."
"Besides the strict implementation of the existing laws, a new legislation should also be considered if necessary," the CPI(M) said.
However, the party's state secretariat kept mum on the allegation raised by political opponents regarding the alleged affiliation of the second accused Bhagaval Singh with the ruling party.
The Congress and BJP had accused him of being an active CPI(M) worker in his locality and put up several Facebook posts supporting Left leaders and ministers.
Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan also pitched for stringent legislation to curb the menace of superstitious beliefs and rituals.
"We will urge Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to consider a bill for the same and to pass it in the next Assembly session itself," he said on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, BJP state president K Surendran reiterated his charge that one of the accused in the case had links with radical groups and his terrorist links should be probed.
(with PTI inputs)
