KOCHI: While the special investigation team probing the human sacrifice case is hoping that a thorough examination of the Facebook chats of Mohammed Shafi, the mastermind, will reveal the mysteries of his past life, the sleuths received evidence that he had used four fake profiles to trap his targets.Bhagaval Singh and wife Laila got in touch through one of the latter’s Facebook profiles in name of ‘Sreedevi’. This profile was created by Shafi in 2019. The inquiry is now centred on the Facebook accounts which are the starting point of the crimes.
Sources with the investigation team confirmed that Shafi had used four fake Facebook accounts. However, the police had not divulged whether they have retrieved all these accounts so far. The police have written to the social media giant seeking help to retrieve these accounts. The phone he used for social media usage was yet to be retrieved. As per Shafi’s statement to the police, he used FB on his wife’s phone and she destroyed the gadget during a quarrel with him.
Experts shared a view that the phone on which the FB account was used should be retrieved as it’s a major piece of evidence to crack the case. “The FB accounts and chats can be retrieved without tracing the mobile phone. However, the investigators have to prove that the accounts were used on the particular phone and sent the messages by submitting its details. If they could not trace it, they could not prove it before the court as the mobile phone on which the FB accounts were used is a strong evidence,” said Jiyas Jamal, a cyber law expert based in Kochi.
Noted criminologist James Vadakkumchery also opined that the missing mobile phone is crucial evidence to prove the allegation of ‘human sacrifice’. “The police are claiming that he had created a fake FB profile and trapped the couple. It was through the chats via FB that Shafi convinced the couple to perform ‘human sacrifice’ for prosperity. If the mobile phone used for the FB chats could not be retrieved, how can the ‘human sacrifice’ angle be proved?” he asked. According to him, if the sacrifice could not be proved, the crime would be treated as ‘twin murder’ as the police claim will turn out to be false.
Meanwhile, the police are also looking into whether any other persons used the FB profiles created by Shafi. He was lodged in jail for about four months after being arrested for raping a 75-year-old woman at Puthencruz in 2020. The police verified whether he used the FB during his jail term. Besides Sreedevi, Sajnamol and Sreeja were the two other fake FB profiles created by Shafi. The police said all these accounts have been retrieved so far.
HC DISMISSES PLEA OF ACCUSED AGAINST CUSTODY
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed the petition filed by three accused persons in the human sacrifice case challenging the order of the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court granting the police their custody for 12 days. Their custody period will be over on October 24. The court also granted permission to the accused to meet their lawyer on alternate days and made clear that the presence of the lawyer is not permitted during interrogation in police custody. The court pointed out that the gruesome murder of two women allegedly as part of human sacrifice for financial gain has shocked the people of Kerala. Justice Kauser Edappagath issued the order while dismissing the plea by Muhammed Shafi, Bhagaval Singh and Laila seeking to quash magistrate court’s order.