Kerala human sacrifice: Police form SIT to probe case
The Kerala police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the murder of two women in Elanthoor village, committed allegedly as part of human sacrifice rituals.
As per the order issued by Kerala police chief Anil Kant, the SIT will be helmed by Kochi City Deputy Commissioner of Police while Perumbavoor ASP Anuj Paliwal will be the chief investigating officer.
Ernakulam Central Assistant Commissioner C Jayakumar, Kadavantra Station House Officer Baiju Jose, Kaladi Station House Officer Anup NA have been chosen as the investigating officers of the case while Elamakara Police Station Sub Inspector Aine Babu and Kaladi Police Station Sub Inspector Bipin TB are members of the SIT.
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The SIT’s investigation will be supervised by the department ADGP law and order.
The team was formed on a day when a remand report of the three accused revealed that they had tortured their two victims before killing them, and the body of one of them was cut into 56 pieces.
On Tuesday, the prime accused Muhammad Shafi and his accomplices Bhagaval Singh and Laila were arrested for the gruesome crime. They reportedly committed the murders for financial prosperity. The accused have been sent to a 14-day judicial custody ending October 26 by a court in Ernakulam.
Knife inserted into vagina, body sliced into pieces
While police are still investigating the case, gruesome details on the killings have emerged based on the confessions of the accused in police remand.
One of the two victims was Padma, 52, a resident of Kochi’s Elamkulam who sold lottery tickets to earn a living. She was allegedly lured by Shafi on pretext of sex work on September 26 in exchange of ₹15,000 and killed.
Also read: Kerala ‘human sacrifice’: Women tortured, bodies cut into 56 pieces, says remand report
“On 26-09-2022, Shafi approached 52-year-old Padma, who used to sell lottery tickets at Kochi. Shafi lured her by offering ₹15,000 for sex work. Then she agreed and went with Shafi to the home of Bhagaval Singh and Laila in the Pathanamthitta district. There, the accused strangled her with a plastic cord around her neck to make her unconscious. After that, Shafi inserted a knife into the vagina of Padma and then he cut her throat for killing. After that, they cut her into 56 pieces and put it into buckets and then buried in the pit,” the custody report said.
The accused in a similar manner had killed Roslin, a woman from Kottayam district in June this year, by luring with the promise of paying ₹10 lakh to act in a blue film.
The report said that once Roslin reached the Laila and Singh’s home, her limbs were tied to a cloth and she was gagged. Laila inserted a knife into the victim’s vagina while she was unconscious and later cut her throat. Singh later cut one of her breasts and kept it. The three then cut her bodies into pieces and buried it in the pit.
