A CCTV footage from September 26, early this year, led the Kerala Police to the arrest of Muhammad Shafi, Bhagaval Singh, and his wife Laila in Kerala's 'human sacrifice' case. The footage from Kerala's Pathanamthitta provided the first clue to the police when Padma, one of the victims, went missing on the day.
The probe began after the kin of the victim had filed a police complaint.
According to a report by NDTV, the footage showed Padma getting into a white Scorpio and later crossing a street while being accompanied by a man, who was later identified as Shafi, the main accused behind the entire act.
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Later, the location of Padma's cell phone led the police to the house of the Singhs, who were promised wealth by Shafi against carrying out the brutal killing.
On October 9, the police came upon CCTV footage from the house of their immediate neighbour, Jose Thomas. It showed the parked Scorpio and Padma walking into the house. Following the probe and questioning, the Singhs confessed to having killed Padma and Roselin, who had been missing since June, the police said.
On Wednesday, the Kerala Police reported the shocking incident of two women being killed as part of a human sacrifice ritual in a village, an incident that has since caused a political uproar in the state.
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While the "human sacrifice" incident has been decried as "disgraceful" by political parties and organisations in Kerela, the shocking details of the incident have been going viral on social media.
The body parts of the victims were cut into pieces before being buried in two locations at Elanthoor, police revealed to the media, quoting the confession by the accused. According to the media reports, one of the victim's bodies was mutilated and cut into as many as 56 pieces while the other's breasts were cut off. Both were strangled.
Since the bodies were chopped into pieces, police are probing the possibility of a cannibalism angle as well.
