Kerala human sacrifices: 'Possibility that accused ate bodies'

KOCHI: A day after the alleged human sacrifice case in Kerala came to the fore, Kerala police on Wednesday revealed that the alleged accused of the case possibly ate the flesh of the victims. In a press meeting, Kochi commissioner CH Nagraju said that Shafi, the main accused, is a pervert and has a criminal past.

"There is a possibility that the accused ate parts of the body after killing the victims. It is being investigated, but not confirmed yet," CH Nagraju said, adding that the prime accused Shafi is a pervert.

He further said that the police had recovered all the parts of the bodies of both victims, killed in the case. "Parts of the body of one of the victim women were recovered from three pits where they were buried. We have recovered some parts of the bodies of the two women who were killed," he further said.

The issue came to the fore on Tuesday as three persons, including one woman, were suspected of luring and killing the women allegedly as a human sacrifice in black magic rituals, the City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju confirmed earlier on Tuesday.

Police arrested three persons, identified as one Shafi, and the husband-wife pair of Bhagaval Singh and Laila.

The Ernakulam magistrate court on Wednesday remanded all three accused on judicial custody for a 14-day duration which will end on October 26. Police are also investigating if any sexual exploitation has been done by the prime accused.

Kochi DCP S Sasidharan, who is the chief investigator said there are at least eight cases registered against Shafi under various offences apart from this human sacrifice ritual case.

"Shafi used his wife's Facebook to find people with financial difficulties where he found Bhagaval Singh and Laila, a couple interested in human sacrifice. His wife didn't know about this," S Sasidharan said.

According to the official, the murders occurred on June 6 and September 26. Kadavanthra police registered the case in Kochi following the report of a missing woman (Pathmam) which was filed in September by the victim's sister.

Police are investigating whether there are more accused and if more such cases happened.