Kerala human sacrifice shocker: Accused cooked, ate chopped body parts
What's the story
In the human sacrifice case of two women which surfaced from Kerala, police on Wednesday said that after killing the victims, the accused chopped up their body parts, cooked, and ate them. One of the three accused, Shafi was identified as the main culprit, who is a psychopath and enjoys sexual cruelty, said police. All three accused were sent to 14-day judicial custody.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Two women, who went missing three months apart, were found murdered in a case of ritualistic human sacrifice for 'prosperity' in Kerala. The prime accused, Shafi had abducted both the women who sold lottery tickets in Ernakulam district and killed them near the accused couple's home in Pathanamthitta district. All three culprits were arrested and they confessed to the crime on Tuesday.
Modus operandi
Accused scoured social media to trap women
A school dropout, Shafi was out on bail in a 2020 case of sexually assaulting a 75-year-old woman. He used to trawl social media to find women and then lured them to the couple — Bhagaval Singh and his wife Laila's house only for them to be 'sacrificed'. He found the victims on social media and drew them to the site of the crime.
Information
Body chopped into 56 pieces, another's breasts cut off
The police traced the phones of both women to the accused agent Mohammed Shafi alias Rashid. The accused reportedly beheaded the women and Shafi chopped Padmam's body into 56 pieces. Laila allegedly stragulated Rosily and her breasts were chopped off before burying both near the couple's house in Elanthoor in Kozhencherry, Pathanamthitta. Shafi worked as an 'agent' to supply women for sacrifice and cannibalism.
Twitter Post
All three accused sent to 14-day judicial custody
#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.
— ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2022
The three accused had allegedly killed two women as 'human sacrifices' pic.twitter.com/UI6SDvbDCC
Details
Shafi promised couple that sacrifice would solve their financial problems
The police arrested the accused couple, said to be traditional massage therapists. A police contingent exhumed the remains of the bodies. Earlier reports said that Shafi created a fake social media account and contacted Singh pretending to be a woman named Sreedevi. He persuaded the couple that a tantric ritual would end their financial problems following which he met them as a tantric.
Victims
First of the two victims went missing in June
The matter came to light when a missing case was registered for Padmam (52) on September 27. She hailed from Tamil Nadu's Dharmapuri and sold lottery tickets at the South Railway Station in Ernakulam. As police began probing, it found that another woman, Rosily (49) was also abducted in a similar fashion. She sold lottery tickets in Kalady, Ernakulam, and went missing in June.
Reaction
CCTV footage from neighbor helped crack the case
Police found CCTV footage of Padmam walking with Shafi. He told police that he lured the women by promising them Rs. 10 lakh for acting in a pornographic video, reported NDTV. Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that only those with a sick mind indulge in such heinous acts. He said such malpractice and witchcraft are a challenge to modern society.