Pathanamthitta/ Kottayam: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the shocking case of human sacrifice in Elanthoor on Wednesday seized a bag and cell phone belonging to victim Rosly.
Gathering evidence, however, proves to be a difficult task for the cops, who scramble to track down fellow victim Padmam’s ankle chain and cellphone.
Police confiscated Rosly’s belongings while pursuing information from Muhammed Shafi aka Rasheed, 52, the main suspect and conspirator in the case.
Shafi, along with a couple – Bhagval Singh, 68, a massage therapist, and his wife Laila, 59, murdered two women in cold blood in the name of black magic.
The two women – Rosly and Padmam – were allegedly sacrificed on two different occasions at the couple’s residence in Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta since June to settle their financial problems and gain wealth, police said.
The body parts of the deceased were exhumed from the premises of the couple’s home in Elanthoor village in Pathanamthitta on October 11.
Kochi City Commissioner CH Nagaraju said evidence collection for the recovery of victims’ personal assets such as gold jewelry or electronic items is underway, and teams have also been dispatched from the station to collect evidence.
Rosly’s relatives confirmed the phone and bag were hers, police said. Officials refused to give further details about where the evidence was found.
Meanwhile, more blood samples were taken from the relatives of the two victims for DNA testing. Samples were taken from Padmam’s children and daughter and from Rosly’s daughter. Once the DNA results are in, the forensic examination, which involves merging the severed body parts of the victims, will be conducted at Kottayam Medical College.
collection of evidence
Meanwhile, police had limited success in their efforts to gather more physical evidence on Wednesday.
The second and third accused Bhagval Singh and his wife Laila were taken to different parts of Pathanamthitta for evidence collection. The couple were taken to a shop in town, where they bought a knife, and to the home of a youth in Malayalapuzha who had been treated at her home in Elanthoor shortly after Padmam’s killing. The police also took them to a shop in Elanthoor that sold coconut fiber made from plastic and other items, and a shop that sold farming equipment. Nothing valuable could be collected from these places. The suspect remained in the police vehicle for the entire duration.
The couple were then taken to their home in Elanthoor. Laila was brought inside. Bhagval Singh was asked to escort the police officers to a canal near the house based on their statements that they dumped Padmam’s mobile phone in the water. The futile search, which began at 1:30 p.m., lasted another two hours. Both were returned to Ernakulam at 5:45 p.m.
Police officers search the Kuttanad Canal for Padmam’s anklets
Meanwhile, a team of divers along with the police searched the AC canal at Pallikoottumayil in Kuttanad for Padmam’s anklet. Shafi had told the police that he had left the silver anklet there after the crime. Although he was also taken to the scene, nothing could be recovered.
The SIT also conducted an investigation at Shafi’s hotel in Ernakulam based on the information that Shafi brought the victims’ meat to Kochi. The two women were brutally murdered at the Elanthoor home in the first week of June and the last week of September. Shafi had told the accused couple that he knew certain individuals who consumed human flesh and that they could sell the flesh to the parties for a high price.
