On October 6, Bhagaval Singh posted a cryptic and dark Haiku that employs the imageries of a fire pit, a knife and a bent body on his Facebook profile. The Haiku poet is now in police custody along with his wife Laila for human sacrifice, under the aegis of a conman named Muhammad Shafi, in July and September. The Kerala couple allegedly confessed to the police that they had killed two women—Rosly and Padmam—as part of human sacrifice rituals, for their 'financial well-being'. According to the police, it was Shafi who made the couple believe that the sacrifices would bring them fortune.
A complaint registered by Padmam’s family on September 27 brought to light the brutal deeds of the couple and Shafi. The police got the initial clue after following the missing person’s last mobile tower location. A joint investigation is being carried out by the Kochi City Police, Ernakulam Rural Police and Pathanamthitta Police.
Singh used to run a traditional massage therapy centre in Elanthur in Pathanamthitta. His father Vasu Vaidyan (Aanjilmootttil Vaidyan) was also a well-known massage therapist. A member of the Elanthur branch committee of CPI(M), and an active member of different cultural organisations, Singh was quite well known locally – he was called Singh ‘Babu’. His arrest has been a shock to people who knew him.
Laila, who too hails from Elanthur, is Singh’s second wife. He divorced his first wife, with whom he has two sons, around 15 years ago. It was via Facebook that Ernakulam-based Shafi got in touch with Singh and Laila. Shafi worked at a hotel, reportedly run by his son-in-law. He lived for almost five years in Perumbavoor, where he sold fish and worked as a driver. As per a source, Shafi hailed from Murickassery in Idukki, and he came to Perumbavoor after he was involved in a rape case. Murickassery police confirmed that Shafi used to live in there around 17 years ago. But they are yet to verify the claim about the rape case as no digital records are available.
Shafi used a fake profile—Sree Devi—to lure Singh. Police said Shafi used the ID to introduce the couple to a sorcerer named Rasheed. Shafi then presented himself as the sorcerer Rasheed who would do rituals for financial gains and success. He went to meet the couple at Pathanamthitta and built a strong bond with them.
Shafi even managed to manipulate Singh into allowing him to have sexual intercourse with Laila in front of him, police said.
It was on Shafi’s insistence that the couple agreed to the human sacrifice. He promised the couple that he will bring women for the ritual. Shafi lured Rosly, who hails from Thrissur and was living in Kalady, in June by offering her Rs 10 lakh for acting in an adult film. She was tied to a cot at the couple's house. Police said the suspects confessed that Laila slit the throat of the victim as Singh and Shafi watched it. The victim’s genitalia was mutilated and she collected the blood as per Shafi's instructions. The body was then chopped into pieces and buried in the house premises. Shafi collected money from the couple for doing the ritual.
After Rosly’s death, the couple, reportedly, complained to Shafi that they did not get the gains he promised. The conman then told the couple that there were some curses on their family and that Rosily’s murder removed those curses. He then managed the couple to agree to another sacrifice. On September 26, he lured Padmam, who hails from Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri, into the trap. She sold lottery tickets in Ernakulam. Shafi reportedly used his son-in-law’s car to transport the victims to Elanthur. Padmam, too, was killed similarly.
Police have found the bodies from the house premises.
