Blurred image of Padmam getting into car trapped seasoned criminal Shafi

Mohammed Shafi, alias Rasheed, 52, a crooked criminal accused in several cases, was a hard nut to crack during interrogation, investigators have said.
Mohammed Shafi being taken to the Kakkanad District Jail after the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court remanded him in judicial custody | T P Sooraj
Mohammed Shafi being taken to the Kakkanad District Jail after the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court remanded him in judicial custody | T P Sooraj

KOCHI: Mohammed Shafi, alias Rasheed, 52, a crooked criminal accused in several cases, was a hard nut to crack during interrogation, investigators have said. He was keen to not leave any evidence leading the inquiry towards him. He had even destroyed his mobile phone two days before his arrest. However, a blurred image of one of the deceased, Padmam, getting into a car helped the police unravel the mystery behind the missing of two women who were later found to be killed as part of performing ‘human sacrifice’.

As part of the investigation after receiving a complaint regarding the missing of Padmam, the police collected CCTV visuals from Kadavanthra to Tiruvalla. “From this footage, the investigation team got a blurred image of Padmam getting into an SUV at Elamkulam. While tracing the details of the vehicle, we received information that it was owned by Mohammed Shafi. Moreover, the verification of the call detail record (CDR) of Padmam also revealed that Shafi had communicated with her frequently. Initially, he did not cooperate with the interrogation but when we produced this evidence, he was forced to admit to the crime,” said an officer.

Also read: Kerala human sacrifice case throws spotlight on wait for law against superstitious practices

Through Facebook chats in the fake ID of ‘Sreedevi’, Shafi came to know that the couple was interested in black magic as an easy way to prosperity. They were facing a severe financial crunch.

Subsequently, he encouraged their interest in witchcraft, brought women to the couple’s house at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta to satisfy his perversions and performed ritualistic sacrifice pretending to be the witchcraft performer. He laid the trap in 2019 and had been in touch with Bhagaval Singh through FB constantly. Shafi, who had only studied up to Class 6, was able to convince the couple to agree to human sacrifice within a year, said the police.

Kochi City Police Commissioner C H Nagaraju said he stayed in various districts and roamed several places after leaving his house at the age of 16. “He sometimes worked as a driver, a vehicle mechanic and a truck driver and got into hotel business,” he said.

He was paid about Rs 3 lakh for getting the first woman, Rosily, to the couple’s house. “All these transactions were direct and there was no online money transaction between the couple and Shafi,” said DCP S Sasidharan. Though Shafi had not maintained any ties with his neighbours at Gandhi Nagar, to where he moved this year, the police said he had contacts with a close group and members of this group would be interrogated.

SHAFI SERVED ONLY FOUR MONTHS IN JAIL FOR RAPE CASE
Kochi:
Mohammed Shafi — claimed to be a pervert by the police — served only four months in jail after being arrested in a case pertaining to the rape of a 75-year-old woman in Kolencherry in 2020. Shafi worked as a truck driver back then. The police said eight more cases were registered against him at various stations.

“The Puthencruz police have lodged a charge sheet in the case, which is pending before the court. Hence he and other accused got bail,” said an officer. Shafi moved to Gandhi Nagar in Kochi earlier this year. The police had ruled out the possibility of a human sacrifice angle in the Kolencherry case though she had inflicted injuries on the elderly woman’s the body, like he did on the two murdered women. “We’ll study the case in detail,” said City Police Commissioner C H Nagaraju.

ON THE TRAIL
According to the police report filed in the court, Palani Amma, 42, a relative of Padmam, had lodged a missing complaint at Kadavanthra station at 8.20pm on September 27. Sub-Inspector Midhun Mohan recorded her statement and started the probe. SI Anil Kumar, who took over it, recovered the CCTV footage from a shop on the Chittoor Road. In it, Padmam was seen getting into the vehicle of Shafi on September 26 around 10.15 am. Anil probed about the vehicle and traced Shafi. After interrogating him, it was revealed that Padmam was taken to Elanthoor and was murdered there. Kadavanthara station house officer took over the probe and carried out the remaining procedures. DCP S Sasidharan will now head the investigation team.

MOVIE OFFER
During interrogation, the accused person confessed to a similar human sacrifice carried out in June. The victim, Rosily Varghese, boarded Shafi’s vehicle from Kottayam and she was taken to Elanthoor offering Rs 10 lakh for acting in a movie. “Rosely’s hands and legs were tied to the bed in a room. A piece of cloth was inserted into her mouth and a plaster too was stuck. Shafi stabbed her using a knife and her throat was slashed. Her body was cut into several pieces and dumped in a pit

RAPE CASE AGAINST SHAFI
Shafi was involved in a theft case and a rape case registered in the police stations at Vellathooval in Idukki in 2006 and at Puthencruz, near Kochi, respectively

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