The mastermind in the Kerala 'human sacrifice' case, Mohammad Shafi, reportedly posed as a woman on social media to befriend accused Bhagaval Singh. His account is named 'Sreedevi' and he used pictures of flowers as his DP, the Kerala police said.
Shafi masqueraded as a holy man and offered to conduct pujas and rituals to help the couple get rid of misfortune and lead them to financial prosperity, NDTV quoted its police sources as saying.
The police also stated that there are indications that he had a physical relationship with Bhagaval Singh's wife Laila that was passed off as a part of the rituals. However, the officer also said that it has to be proven independently and they are looking for 'corroborative evidence'. There have been reports that the lawyer of the accused couple has denied the possibility of cannibalism, which is another angle the police are exploring.
The three accused, who took part in the murder of the two women, were identified earlier this week.
According to NDTV, Laila Singh and Shafi each sexually abused and tortured one of the two victims before murdering them. The police added that Shafi is a sadist and pervert, and he had roped in the couple, brainwashing them with promises of riches after human sacrifice.
On Thursday, during the court proceedings, the police gave a sequence of events in the two murders. Despite the horrific attacks on Rosalin and Padma taking place three months apart—in June and September—they were eerily similar.
As per NDTV sources, both women had knives inserted in their private parts, their throats were slit, and their bodies were chopped into pieces and buried. For Rosalin, the perpetrator was Laila Singh, while Shafi had tortured and murdered the second woman, Padma. Bhagaval Singh had reportedly chopped off Rosalin's breasts before burying the body.
The sequence of events so far has come from confessional statements. The Kerala Police has been investigating cannibalism claims made by one of the accused.
The police have currently got custody of all three accused for 12 days for further interrogation and a thorough investigation. The court ordered judicial custody of the accused yesterday, however, the police filed a custody plea today, saying that detailed questioning is required to figure out if there are other victims.
Hearing the matter, the Kerala Court said the widespread use of internet and social media has also led to the spread of superstition and regressive beliefs.
In his order, Judicial Magistrate Eldos Mathew said, "Even (though) the spirit of our Constitution is to promote scientific temper, modern scientific tools like Facebook, mobile phones, and YouTube are being used for spreading our weird beliefs, superstitions, rituals, etc. In effect, when science and technology lead our society towards progress and development, such regressive acts backtrack the society."
