Three persons in Kerala who have been accused of killing two women as part of a “ritualistic human sacrifice for financial prosperity” may have eaten parts of the victims, the Kochi city police commissioner said on Wednesday, ANI reported.
The two women, Rosily and Padmam, were both residents of Ernakulam and sold lottery tickets for a living. Rosily had been missing since June, while Padmam disappeared on September 26.
Their bodies were exhumed on Tuesday from the home of a couple identified as Bhagaval Singh and Laila in Pathanamthitta district’s Elanthoor village, who were facing financial difficulties.
The police arrested the couple along with a man identified as Muhammed Shafi alias Rasheed, a native of Perumbavoor.
A magistrate court in Ernakulam on Wednesday sent them to judicial custody for 14 days.
At a press conference, Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said they are investigating the cannibalism angle.
“There’s a possibility that the accused ate parts of body after killing the victims,” he said, adding that the allegation is not confirmed yet. “Prime accused Shafi is a pervert. We’re investigating whether there are more accused and if more such cases happened.”
Nagaraju said the police have recovered all parts of the bodies of the two women. “Parts of the body of one of the victim women were recovered from three pits where they were buried,” he added.
The police said Shafi, who allegedly lured the victims to the couple for sacrifice, used Facebook to find those who are facing financial difficulties.
On Tuesday, the police had said Shafi came in contact with Singh through this method and told him that a black magic practitioner could offer solutions for his prosperity, reported The Indian Express. However, he himself went to Singh’s house pretending to be a black magic practitioner and allegedly advised him to carry out human sacrifices to end their financial troubles.
Shafi, in reality, is an owner of a restaurant in Kochi, and many of his regular customers were lottery vendors, the authorities had said.
“The murders were brutal, the women were killed within 24 hours after missing,” Nagaraju had said. “The manner of killing is indescribable.”
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