Accused in the Elanthur human sacrifice case remanded to custody

Muhammad Shafi, Bhagaval Singh and his wife Laila have been alleged to have entered into a conspiracy to commit human sacrifice for getting material prosperity for the couple

The three persons who were accused of committing human sacrifice, in Pathanamthitta, were remanded to police custody for 14 days.

The Kadavanthra police had produced Muhammad Shafi, Bhagaval Singh and his wife Laila before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court 8, Ernakulam, on Wednesday morning.

It was on a complaint from Palani Amma, the sister of the deceased woman Padma, that the Kadavanthra police launched the investigation. Ms. Palani Amma had complained that Padma, who earned a living by selling lottery tickets, had gone missing since September 26, this year.

Investigations revealed that Shafi had taken her in a vehicle on September 26. The visuals of the accused taking the victim in a vehicle was obtained from the CCTV visuals, according to the remand report submitted by the police.

On interrogation of the accused, it was revealed that the trio had murdered her at a house in Elanthur in Pathanamthitta district on the day. The accused had lured her after offering money to act in an adult movie, the report said.

Investigations also revealed that the accused had murdered another woman, Roslin, on June this year, according to the remand report.

The remains of the dead bodies of the two slain women were recovered from the house premise.