Kochi: More chilling details of a horrific double human sacrifice unearthed by the Kochi police are coming out as the probe intensifies with the arrest of the trio involved in the crime.
Ernakulam City Commissioner C H Nagaraju on Wednesday revealed Mohammed Shafi, the prime accused in the Elanthoor human sacrifices case, was a diabolic individual who found pleasure in inflicting wounds on women, especially on their private parts.
"Shafi would weave all kinds of stories to trap people so as to satisfy his perversion. He is the mastermind behind this entire episode. He has a habit of finding strangers who need him and keeping a distance from those close to him," said Nagaraju, who was speaking at a press conference here.
Shafi was a habitual offender who has been apprehended in many cases, including murder. He only got bail last year in a case where he brutally assaulted an elderly woman in 2020, the police said on Tuesday.
Shafi, who has only received formal education till Class 6, created a fake Facebook account under the name 'Sridevi' and posted pictures of flowers as his profile image. Shafi, disguised as Sridevi, managed to lure the second accused Bhagval Singh into his trap and maintained a relationship with him since 2018.
"All of Shafi's connections via Facebook are being probed," said Nagaraju.
When Padmam, one of the victims in the case, was reported missing from Kadavanthra, I had a hunch she had been murdered, said DCP S Sasidharan. "Such intuitions of mine rarely go wrong. That is when the order was issued to launch a full-fledged investigation into the missing case," said Sasidharan.
The blurred visuals we received of Padmam boarding a vehicle proved decisive in the investigation, he added.
According to police, Shafi's intention was to take complete advantage of Bhagval's family. He managed, in just a year, to convince the couple of the need for human sacrifice for the rituals to yield positive results.
"Though there are reports the couple has engaged in cannibalism, there is no evidence to support the claim yet. It's been said they consumed human flesh after murdering Rosly, of Kalady. However, an investigation needs to be carried out to confirm the same," they said.
There are 10 cases pending against Shafi, who left home at the age of 16 and did all sorts of odd jobs across the state to survive, said Nagaraju.
"Though they admitted to the heinous crime, there was no sense of remorse in the accused, which is also why they decided to repeat the murder when they managed to get away with the first one. However, all that is for the court to find out," he added.
The third accused Laila, the wife of Bhagval Singh, claims to be suffering from depression. But, confirmation regarding the same can only be made after subjecting her to medical examinations, said Nagaraju.
Victims brutally murdered: Remand report
The Elanthoor couple committed the heinous murders in the human sacrifice case to bring about wealth and prosperity through black magic, while the two victims were murdered brutally, the police remand report said.
Shafi murdered Padmam, while Laila killed Rosly. Both the victims were street lottery vendors who were trapped by Shafi, offering lumpsum money to act in a video.
According to the report, Shafi, “the black magic practitioner”, cruelly murdered Padmam during an argument over money. He choked her by winding a plastic cover over her neck and pierced her private parts with a knife. He then sliced open her neck. The body was cut into 56 pieces using a sharp-edged tool. The dismembered body parts were carried in a bucket and buried outside the house of the Elanthoor couple.
The court remanded all three accused to two weeks of judicial custody.
Shafi and Bhagval were shifted to Kakkanad district jail and Laila to the women’s prison.
The accused were brought to the Kadavanthra police station by a team led by Ernakulam City Deputy Commissioner, and later to the court with their faces covered. Laila masked her face using her shawl. They were brought to Kochi early on Wednesday.
