A probe into two missing women from Ernakulam has led the Kerala police to a suspected case of human sacrifice. The police suspect that a couple from Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta and a man from Ernakulam abducted and murdered the two women. The alleged motive was human sacrifice for prosperity.
The two women, who went missing three months apart, sold lottery tickets for a living in Ernakulam. Forty-nine-year-old Rosily, who sold lottery tickets in Kalady, went missing in June, according to her relatives. Her daughter, who lives in Uttar Pradesh, filed a missing person complaint on August 17. Over a month later, another woman went missing. On September 27, Padmam, a 52-year-old woman from Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri who sold lotteries at the South Railway Station in Ernakulam, went missing. “Her relatives filed a missing complaint stating that she went missing on September 27, based on which the police began the probe," Kadavanthra police told TNM.
The police found CCTV footage of Padmam walking with a man named Mohammed Shafi alias Rashid, who had allegedly promised both women money to act in a video. He allegedly confessed that he abducted and murdered the two women as part of a ritual for the prosperity of a couple who had commissioned him, said P Prakash, IGP, South Zone. This led the police to Bhagaval Singh, a traditional healer and and his wife Laila, who lived in Pathanamthitta’s Thiruvalla. They have also allegedly confessed to the crime. Many local residents told the media that they would approach the couple for health-related issues.
As per reports, the body parts of the two women were chopped up and buried near the couple’s house near Elanthoor in Thiruvalla. A police contingent will exhume the remains of the two women.
Rosily’s daughter Manju returned to Kerala from Uttar Pradesh in August to look for her mother. She told TNM that the police had not officially informed her that her mother was murdered, she had learnt it from the media. “I hope it is not true, I have been visiting police stations regularly,” she said.
The Kochi Police Commissioner Nagaraju C told TNM Rashid created a fake social media profile in the name of Sreedevi and contacted Bhagaval Singh. Pretending to be Sreedevi, Rashid informed Bhagaval Singh that a tantric could ensure his prosperity. Rashid then introduced himself to Bhagval and his wife as a tantric and suggested human sacrifice.
The two women were allegedly abducted by Rashid and later killed. The police have arrested Rashid, while the couple are in police custody. However, the Kochi Police Commissioner Nagaraju C told TNM that the couple's arrest will be recorded only after the bodies are exhumed.