KOCHI: The police are investigating whether more women have fallen prey to Mohammed Shafi, the mastermind in the twin human sacrifice case, even as they received information that he had lured two students from Kochi to Elanthoor and allegedly raped them.
“Shafi is a sexual pervert who adopted different means, including black magic as in the instant case, to satiate his perversions. So a thorough investigation has to be conducted as to whether more people were sacrificed in a like manner, or more people were involved in the crime,” said a report submitted by the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case before a Kochi court on Thusday, seeking custody of the accused.
The judicial first class magistrate court sent the three accused -- Shafi, Bhagawal Singh and Laila -- to police custody till 5 pm on October 24. Meanwhile, the SIT is collecting information about two students staying at a hostel in Kochi, who were suspected to be sexually harassed by Shafi, sources said.
The two girls were frequent visitors at Adheen’s restaurant run by Shafi near Shenoy’s theatre. “The information was passed to the SIT by a person close to Shafi whose statement was collected recently. Shafi took the duo to Elanthoor and raped them at Singh’s residence. For the past one year, Shafi has been a frequent visitor at the house,” a source said, adding once confirmed, further cases will be registered.
In the custody application, the SIT said the accused needed to be interrogated further to probe whether there were any other motives. “The gold ornaments of the deceased women are missing. It seems they have been sold or pledged by the accused. They are yet to be traced,” the police said.
Sources said the SIT later found that Shafi, after murdering Padmam, pledged her ornaments to a private lender at Gandhinagar in Kochi. CCTV footage in this regard have been recovered and information collected from the lender.
Crime has no parallel in recent past, says court
Six sovereign gold ornaments were pawned for Rs 1.5 lakhs. Steps have been initiated to recover the ornaments, they said. The money received for the witchcraft and the weapon used for committing the crime have to be recovered, the application said. The investigation has to be extended to pending missing cases as well, it said.
The team will also look into how Shafi learnt the sorcery tricks to trap Singh and Laila. A few books, said to be read by Shafi and other accused during the ritual, have been recovered. “The owners of these books need to be traced,” it said.
The accused needed to be taken to various places in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts to collect evidence with the assistance of the forensic wing, the application said. Details of the visitors to Singh’s house also have to be collected. The court observed that the crime has had no parallel in the state in the recent past and has stunned the conscience of society as a whole.