Bhagaval Singh, a traditional healer and Haiku poet, and his wife Laila– a seemingly normal-looking couple living in Elanthoor, a sleepy village in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district– were arrested by police on October 11 for allegedly killing two women in “human sacrifice” and possibly eating their flesh. Click Here for Latest Updates
Neighbours, still in shock over the killings, described the couple as a well-educated and well-to-do family, who were always polite to people.
Singh belonged to a respected family of healers and was well-known as a social worker in the area. His neighbour said that they never heard him speak to anyone in an agitated manner.
Singh was also quite active on the social media platform Facebook, where he had more than 1,100 followers. According to his bio on the platform, he was “self-employed in alternative medicine”. Singh often posted Haikus on Facebook– the traditional Japanese poem of 17 syllables that do not rhyme.
As per his Facebook bio, he studied at Kerala University and St Thomas College in Kozhencherry.
“Self-employed in the field of alternative medicine and Marma system of therapy which is well spread and accepted by people. I plant and nourish various species of herbs of great medical value. Under the supervision of academic personnel we treat accident-born complaints, various types of arthritis, paralysis, born setting and after cure (sic),” his bio read.
Facebook is where Singh met Mohammed Shafi alias Rasheed–the main accused behind the gruesome killing. Police describe Shafi as a “sexual pervert” and sadist, who convinced Singh and his wife Laila to perform the “human sacrifice” to end their financial troubles.
Singh’s last post on Facebook was on October 6, more than a week after the trio killed their second victim Padma. The posts were two cryptic poems in Malayalam, of which one read: “A furnace, blacksmith’s wife at work, her body bent over.”
How The Saga Started
According to police, the saga started when 59-year-old Laila, the second wife of 68-year-old Bhagaval Singh, came across a Facebook post which invited “those who are interested in prosperous life”.
After the couple explored the post, Singh, popularly known as ‘Vaidyan’ among the locals, received a friend request from someone named ‘Sreedevi’ who claimed to be a fan of his Haiku poetry.
Singh and ‘Sreedevi’ started chatting online frequently and after some time had passed, the latter convinced the healer-cum-poet to seek the help of a ‘sidhan’ (occult practitioner) named Rasheed from Perumbavoor in Ernakulam to gain vast wealth.
Little did Bhagaval Singh or Laila realise that ‘Sreedevi’ was none other than 52-year-old Rasheed alias Mohammed Shafi hiding behind a fake profile. After being ‘introduced’ to the couple by ‘Sreedevi’, Rasheed began making regular visits to Singh’s home in Elanthoor. Soon, Singh, Laila and Rasheed formed a strong bond.
According to police sources, Rasheed put the first act of his plan in motion when he told the couple that would need to have sex with Laila in the presence of Singh at their house, which was located in a secluded spot surrounded by other vacant homes.
Blinded by the promise of wealth and money, the couple gave in. Police sources claimed Singh used to witness Rasheed performing sexual acts on his wife “with folded hands”. Later Rasheed reportedly convinced the couple that they needed to indulge in “human sacrifice” to “wash their sins” in order to get wealthy.
Their first victim Roselin was killed on June 6 and their second victim Padma on September 26, according to the police. The trio hacked the victims’ bodies to pieces and buried them in the backyard of the couple’s house in Pattanamthitta.
What landed the trio in police custody was the swift missing person’s complaint filed by the second victim’s sister on September 26, the day she was killed. The Kadavanthra Police swung into action and by October 11 all three were arrested.
When the investigation led police to Bhagaval Singh’s house, the couple allegedly confessed to the murders and showed where the women’s remains were buried.
Police sources told News18 that Laila has confessed that she and her husband cooked and consumed the flesh of both victims since Rasheed told them that doing so would “preserve” their youth.
Main Accused Mohammed Shafi alias Rasheed to Undergo Psychological Examination
Mohammed Shafi, the prime accused in the sensational human sacrifice case which resulted in the death of two women, will be subjected to a psychological examination, city police commissioner C Nagaraju said on Thursday. Also, he said a detailed forensic examination will be conducted at the crime scene, including the house of the accused and the adjacent property at Elanthoor village in Pathanamthitta district, where the victims’ bodies were buried after being cut into pieces.
“Shafi is a sexual pervert and a sadist with a mindset to cause injury, harm, and death. We will conduct a proper psychological examination on him. An expert doctor from the Thrissur government hospital will conduct his psychological evaluation,” Nagaraju told PTI.
On further investigation into the case, he said, “We will thoroughly examine the house, the land where the bodies were buried, and in fact, the whole property. They have cleaned the premises after the murder. So, we need to examine the traces of dry blood from the scene,” Nagaraju said.
The officer said Shafi is a history-sheeter with around 10 cases against him in the last 15 years. The cases range from rape of a 75-year-old to simple theft and drunken driving.
“The rape of the 75-year-old woman in 2020 was brutal as he had inflicted severe injuries on her private parts. Similar injuries were made on the latest victims also,” Nagaraju said.
Shafi was arrested in that rape case but was on bail after the government had to free up space in prisons during the pandemic, keeping in sync with a government regulation, he added. The court on Thursday granted 12-day police custody of the three accused for collecting evidence and further investigation into the crime.
Read all the Latest News India and Breaking News here
Comments
0 comment