KOCHI/PATHANAMTHITTA: A couple's greed and superstition ended in the cold-blooded murder of two women in Elanthoor, located halfway between Kozhencherry and Pathanamthitta towns. Three persons, including the couple, were arrested on Tuesday. The gory tale of black magic and human sacrifice in Kerala, renowned to be progressive, has shocked the nation.
Bhagaval Singh, an ayurvedic healer in Elanthoor, his wife Laila, and Mohammed Shafi alias Rasheed, a self-proclaimed sorcerer, was arrested for the abduction and murder of Tamil Nadu native Padmam, 52, and Thrissur native Rosily, 50. The women lived in Ernakulam and had gone missing some time back.
The trio confessed to killing the women, chopping off their bodies and burying the parts on the premises of the couple's house, said the police. It was Shafi who convinced the couple into sacrificing the women, saying it would bring them prosperity and wealth, they said.
Padmam had settled in Elamkulam, Kochi, around 15 years ago, while Rosily, a native of Wadakkanchery in Thrissur, lived in Kalady. Padmam, who sold lottery tickets at Kadavanthra, had gone missing on September 24. Rosily went missing in June. It was the missing complaint filed by Padmam's sister Palaniamma that led police to discover the gruesome crime.
“Shafi first created a fake Facebook profile and befriended Singh introducing himself as Sridevi. He told Singh that there was a sorcerer Rasheed in Perumbavoor who could bring prosperity and wealth to the couple through black magic,” said the police.
Unaware that he was in contact with the same person, Singh called Shafi (assuming he was the sorceror) using the number provided by 'Sridevi' and urged him to come to his house. There, Shafi convinced Singh that performing human sacrifice would bring the couple prosperity. He also offered to bring people who could be sacrificed.
The police said he took Padmam to the couple's house and hit her on the head with a log, rendering her unconscious.“Laila then slit Padmam's throat and inflicted wounds on her private parts. The trio collected her blood and spread it around the house. They later chopped up the body and buried it on the premises,” said the police, adding that Rosily was killed similarly.
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Shafi lured Padmam with an offer of Rs 10 lakh
Sometime later, Singh called Shafi and complained that there had been no change in his life. Shafi then advised him to perform more black magic and offered to bring another person to sacrifice. He told him that the first sacrifice had removed his sins while the second would bring him wealth.
While probing the missing complaint filed by Padmam’s sister, the police came to know that Shafi had lured her with the offer of Rs 10 lakh if she came with him to Thiruvalla.
Shafi had also approached several lottery sellers in Ernakulam with the same demand. After getting a clue about Shafi from them and by tracing the signals of Padmam’s mobile phone to Thiruvalla, the police nabbed the trio.
Though Rosily’s daughter Manju, who is a teacher in Uttar Pradesh, had filed a missing complaint after returning to Vadakkanchery in August, the police could not make much headway.