KOCHI: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the Elanthoor human sacrifice case is scrutinising the financial dealings of Mohammed Shafi, the mastermind behind the crime, to check whether more persons are involved in the murders.
The team is also gathering details about the pledging of 36 grams of gold by Shafi. There are indications that the jewellery, which he pledged in a financial firm near his rented house in Gandhi Nagar, Kochi, were owned by Padmam, the lottery seller sacrificed by Shafi and couple Bhagaval Singh and Laila on September 26.
The police said Shafi had collected Rs 1.1 lakh from the firm by lying that a woman from Tamil Nadu had lent him the gold to help with his financial issues. Padmam hailed from Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu.
Sources said Shafi had pledged gold ornaments, suspected to be of the deceased, in several Kochi firms. The police said they were confident of recovering the jewellery. They said they are searching for Shafi’s SUV in which he brought the victims to Elanthoor from Kochi.
SIT searches Shafi’s home for six hours
The SIT also searched Shafi’s rented house for nearly six hours on Friday and recovered papers of vehicles he possesses and other documents. They also carried out evidence collection at the house and the restaurant he ran in the city to recover the ornaments.
Sources said Shafi also owns a jeep and had once owned a bus. The SIT also collected the detailed statement of his wife Nabeesa. She said Shafi had given her Rs 40,000 from the money he got after pledging the ornaments. “Evidence collection with the other accused in Elanthoor will be done in the coming days,” said a police official.