Police arrest three in India for ‘murdering two women as part of human sacrifice’

Three people in India’s southern state of Kerala have been arrested for allegedly killing two women in a suspected case of human sacrifice.

The remains of the two women, identified as Padmam, 52, from the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu and Rosily Varghese, 50, from the Trissur district of Kerala, were found on Tuesday. The women were killed months apart.

The accused – Bhagaval Singh, an ayurvedic healer, his wife Laila and Mohammed Shafi, a self-proclaimed sorcerer – were arrested and sent to judicial custody for three weeks in connection with the abduction and murder of the two women in Elanthoor village.

According to local police, the trio confessed to killing the women, chopping off their bodies and burying the parts on the premises of the couple’s house for wealth and prosperity. The couple went ahead with the plan of human sacrifice after being convinced by Shafi, police said.

Authorities are probing whether the accused “cooked and ate the flesh of the victims” after it was discovered that they had allegedly chopped one of the women in 56 pieces.

Both the victims were reportedly lured with money.

Padmam, who moved to Kerala 15 years ago and sold lottery tickets, went missing in September. She had been living alone in Kochi since February. Her sister Palaniamma filed a missing person’s report once she stopped receiving calls from Padmam.

Her phone was traced to Pathanamthitta, located nearly 113km from Kochi. Police found she had received several calls from the occultist. Mr Shafi’s call records revealed he had been in touch with the couple.

During the interrogation, the couple confessed to the crime, which led to the discovery of another murder which took place four months prior in June, the police said.

Surveillance footage showed Padmam boarding Mr Shafi’s car on 26 September from Kochi and reaching Mr Singh’s house in Elanthoor around 4pm the same day.

“At the bedroom located in the central part of the house, Padmam demanded money from the accused persons. Following the argument on it, they strangulated Padmam using a plastic rope,” the remand report said, according to The New Indian Express.

When Padmam became unconscious, Shafi inflicted injuries on her “private parts” with a knife and slashed her throat which led to her death.

Her body was then cut into 56 parts using a cleaver and knives and dumped in a pit dug up in the compound of the house at the northern side, the report said.

The other victim, Rosily, was reporetdly taken to Mr Singh and offered Rs 100,000 (£10,819) to act in a film.

Her hands and legs were tied to a bed and a piece of cloth was inserted into her mouth which was also taped, according to the remand report.

“She was stabbed by Shafi and her throat was slashed. Later, her private parts were cut and preserved,” it added.

Cochin police commissioner CH Nagaraju said Mr Shafi is a “sexual pervert” who befriended Mr Singh on Facebook by pretending to be a woman named Sridevi.

“He is a hardcore criminal, a psychopath. We are investigating whether there are more accused and if more such cases happened,” the commissioner said.

“In 2020, Shafi raped a 75-year-old woman and inflicted grievous injuries on her private parts as well. This indicates sexual perversion and psychopathic behaviour,” he added.

The accused couple on Thursday denied allegations of consuming the flesh of the victims.

“No. We have not eaten the flesh,” Ms Laila said while she and her husband, Mr Singh, were taken to a magistrate court.