Indian trio in Kerala arrested over alleged human sacrifice case linked to women’s deaths
- Remains of the two victims were found buried in the couple’s backyard and exhumed by the police on Tuesday
- Police said they have information that the victim’s flesh was eaten, “but we don’t have any evidence”
Indian authorities have arrested three people for the alleged murder of two women in a purported case of human sacrifice in the southern state of Kerala.
According to The Indian Express newspaper, police said that the suspects – a married couple and another man – had “severely tortured” the victims before killing them and cutting their bodies into pieces.
Police said the suspects had confessed to the crime and an investigation was ongoing.
Remains of the two victims – lottery ticket-sellers Padmam and Rosly – were found buried in the couple’s backyard in Elanthoor village and exhumed by the police on Tuesday.
The two women had gone missing months apart, according to a police report. Padmam, 52, was reported as missing on September 26 and Rosly, 49, had not been heard from as far back as June 6, according to The Indian Express.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said that Mohammad Shafi, a 52-year-old “occult practitioner”, had been the main conspirator behind the murders.