Human Sacrifice: How A Friendly Neighborhood Guy, A Poet, Got Two Women Killed For Prosperity

Residents of Elanthoor, a small village in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala are still in a state of shock and disbelief that someone whom they had known for a long time, who was an active participant in almost every public event there could have committed such a heinous crime.

Bhagaval Singh and his wife Laila who used to run a traditional massage centre near Aranmula in at their house were arrested by the Kerala Police on Thursday for their role in a double murder.

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Human sacrifice to solve financial trouble

According to the police, Singh and his wife got two women, who were strangers to them killed in a human sacrifice ritual, believing that it will solve their financial troubles and bring them prosperity.

Everyone in the village knew Singh

Singh who used to run the massage centre called 'Anjilimoottil Vaidyanmar' had a good reputation as a massage therapist in his village and nearby.

"I have known him for the past 50 years and none had a doubt about his work as a lot of people used to come to the couple's house for massage. None had any doubt about this man. It was yesterday I saw a police vehicle in front of their home. After some time, the couple was taken away in the police vehicle," said a local.

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Facebook timeline filled with poems

He was also a Haiku poet, - a Japanese poetic form that consists of three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third.

A look at his Facebook account shows his timeline full of Haiku poems.

The literary community in Kerala has also been left in shock as Singh was a key member of a literary group on social media called Malayala Sahitya Lokam, which has over 29,000 members.

CPIM distances itself from Singh

The 67-year-old is also a former branch member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Elanthoor. Following the arrest, the CPIM has distanced itself from Singh, but there are many posts and photos on Facebook showing his association with the party.

How it started

According to the Police, Singh who had over 3,000 friends on Facebook landed in trouble after he accepted the friendship request of a user who went by the name Sreedevi.

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While chatting with him, Sreedevi told him that 'she' knew someone who can perform black magic that will bring them financial prosperity.

Intrigued by this offer, Singh then contacted Rasheed alias Muhammand Shafi, a resident of Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district on the number shared by 'Sreedevi'.

What was unknown to Singh was that Sreedevi was Shafi himself.

Planning and execution of 'human sacrifice'

After 'listening' to Singh's 'problems' Shafi suggested that human sacrifice was the solution and offered help.

Shafi who took a large sum from Singh and his wife then lured two women, Padma and Roslyn, both lottery sellers in their 50s.

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He reportedly offered them better jobs at the home of a wealthy family and took them to Singh's house where they were tied up and their throats were slit.

Shafi reportedly even made the couple consume the meat of the two women and the remaining were chopped into pieces that were buried near the house.

Unspeakable cruelty: Police

"The murders were brutal, the women were killed within 24 hours after missing. The manner of killing is indescribable," Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said.

According to the official, the murders took place on June 6 and September 26.

"The murders happened within 24 hours of the two women going missing," he said.

Local media reported that Shafi even had sex with Singh's wife, in front of him after convincing them that it was part of the ritual.

"The main suspect is Shafi who brought the women. His aim was money. It is being investigated whether the accused Shafi approached more women for a 'human sacrifice ritual'," Nagaraju said.

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