The team will be headed by S. Sasidharan, Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order), Kochi City
The team will be headed by S. Sasidharan, Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order), Kochi City
A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to conduct a detailed scientific probe into the murder of two women in a suspected case of human sacrifice in Pathanamthitta. The team will be headed by S. Sasidharan, Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order), Kochi City.
Three persons – Mohammed Shafi, a.k.a. Rasheed, and a couple, Bhagaval Singh and Laila, the first, the second and the third accused respectively – were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the murders at the house of the couple at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta district in June and September.
“So far, we have not come across the involvement of a third party though that will not stop us from probing that angle. Shafi had cast his net wide for potential victims and hence we will also investigate whether there were more such cases,” said C.H. Nagaraju, District Police Chief (Kochi City), at a press conference here on Wednesday.
Asked about reports that the accused had even consumed the flesh of the victims as part of the ritual, he said it could have happened in the case of the victim from Kalady. “We are looking for evidence to corroborate that,” he said.
Both the murders had taken place late in the evening. Pits had been dug prior to the murders in the pretext of dumping waste. Body parts of one victim was recovered from one pit and that of the other from three different pits. They have been sent for DNA test.
While the criminal antecedents of Shafi had been established, there were no criminal cases registered against the couple. Regarding Laila’s claim that she was suffering from depression, Mr. Nagaraju said medical records would have to be verified and an examination would be held to establish that.
The police are still verifying the money transactions involved since the accused kept changing the statements frequently. However, Mr. Sasidharan said there seemed to be an initial direct exchange of cash to the tune of ₹3 lakh between the first and the second accused.
Asked whether the alleged lackadaisical investigation into the missing of Rosli by the Kalady police had led to the murder of Padmam months later, Mr. Nagaraju said though she had gone missing on June 8, the complaint was filed by her daughter only on August 17 since the victim’s live-in partner had failed to report her missing.
“The probe was under way, only it was not successful, which sometimes could happen in police investigations. However, there was not much gap between the registration of the missing person complaint and the murder of the second victim,” he said.
The couple had little contact with the immediate neighbours. Bhagaval Singh maintained contact with a select group, and questioning some of his friends had helped. The police have partially analysed the social media interactions between the first and the second accused, including their chats.