Kerala human sacrifice case: 3 accused sent to 14-day judicial custody

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 12: The three accused in Kerala's 'human sacrifice' case have been remanded to 14-day judicial custody till October 26. They are facing the allegations of sacrificing two women to settle the financial issues and bring prosperity in their own lives.

The Kochi police produced the trio before court on Wednesday morning. Mohammed Shafi alias Rasheed is the first accused, Bhagaval Singh is the second and his wife Laila has been were listed as the third accused.

The court has sent them to 14-day judicial custody. The first and the second accused will be sent to to Kakkanad jail while Laila will be sent to women's jail, according to a report in News9.

Laila told the court that she was taking medication for depression.

According to media reports, advocate BA Aloor, known for representing the accused in several sensational cases, appeared in the court for the trio in this case.

On Tuesday night, senior IPS officer R Nishanthini, who gave lead to the exhumation procedures at the couple's house in Elanthoor village in Pathanamthitta, where the bodies of the victims were buried after being chopped in pieces, said prima facie the crime was committed to settle the financial issues of the couple and to bring prosperity in their life, PTI reported.

Quoting the accused, the officer said Muhammand Shafi alias Rasheed, who had lured the hapless women and brought them to Singh's house, had contacted the couple through Facebook Messenger.

As per the primary assumption, the Shafi had used a fake ID to contact the couple. According to police, the two women, who made a living selling lottery tickets on the streets here, were 'sacrificed' by the accused to resolve the financial problems of the couple.

The chopped body parts, suspected to be that of the deceased, were exhumed from the premises of the couple's house at Elanthoor on Tuesday. The women had gone missing in September and June this year and the eventual probe, based on their mobile phone details and tower locations, unravelled the story of human sacrifice.

Responding to the incident, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday expressed shock and disbelief. "The fact that we are hearing about human sacrifice in Kerala is beyond shocking", Bar & Bench quoted Justice Devan Ramachandran as saying.