'Pervert', 'psychopath', history-sheeter and a sadist: Creepy facts about the Kerala 'human sacrifice' case mastermind

The remand report submitted by the police in the Kerala ‘human sacrifice’ case has revealed shocking details about the entire incident and the main conspirator who designed and executed the killings of two women before mutilating their body as part of black magic in a village in Pathanamthitta district. 

A magistrate court in Ernakulam on Wednesday remanded the three accused -- Mohammed Shafi alias Rasheed, Bhagaval Singh and his wife Laila -- into judicial custody for 14 days. 

Shafi came in contact with the accused couple through a fake Facebook profile and convinced them for a “human sacrifice that was needed for their financial well-being”. The police has described him as a “pervert” and “psychopath” besides the fact that he is a history-sheeter and is involved in a dozen cases registered against him in the past 15 years.

Here is what we know so far about the mastermind behind the murders that have sent shockwaves across the country:

The police have identified the prime accused Mohammed Shafi as a "psychopath" and a "pervert". Ernakulam city police commissioner C Nagaraju said on Wednesday Shafi was a history-sheeter, and used the irrational fear of the accused couple to create a pretext that human sacrifice will solve their financial issues.

Nagaraju said Shafi has over a dozen criminal cases registered against him in the last 15 years. “Shafi has studied only up to Class 6 and did all menial jobs right from a driver to a mechanic to the one who runs a hotel. A rape case has been registered against him in the past when he raped a 75-year-old woman and also used a knife to make wounds in the private parts. We have found out that the same places were injured in the two women who were murdered apparently as a human sacrifice,” he said. 

According to the remand report, Shafi and the woman accused Laila inserted knife into the vagina of the victims.

The police commissioner also said: “It has now been proved that he (Shafi) is a psychopath and a sexual pervert, and the one who derives sexual pleasure and will go to any extent even to kill for it. He has been using a fake Facebook account and it says that if anyone has financial problems to contact him. That`s how he befriended Singh and it took three years for him to win their confidence and trap them and the crime took place.”

Shafi had created a fake Facebook profile by the name ‘Sreedevi’ which he used to lure the couple, Bhagaval Singh and his wife Laila. After connecting with Singh over Messenger for some time, he convinced him to contact an occultist to seek help for amassing wealth, reported News18. 

After convincing the couple to contact a ‘sidhan’ (occult practitioner), ‘Sreedevi’ introduced them to Shafi who then started making regular visits to their home. 

According to police sources quoted by News18, Shafi told the couple that he would need to have sexual intercourse with Laila in her husband’s presence as part of the ritual. The couple gave in to this as they were blinded by the promise of wealth and prosperity. Singh would reportedly witness Rasheed performing sexual acts on his wife “with folded hands”.

Shafi then told the couple to carry out a ‘human sacrifice’ to solve their financial problems. The three committed the first murder on June 8. Shafi approached Roslin at Kottayam district and lured her by offering Rs 10 lakhs for acting in a blue film. She agreed to it and went to the couple’s home. 

There, they tied her hands and legs to a cot and a cloth was inserted into the mouth and plastered it. When she was conscious, the accused woman Laila inserted knife into the vagina of the victim. Then she cuts her throat. Then the second accused Bhagaval Singh cut off the victim`s breast and kept it. And the three accused jointly cut her into pieces and buried in the pit.

Days later, Shafi told the two that the evil spell cast on them was so strong that they were unable to gain benefits after the first sacrifice. This then led to the killing of the other woman on September 26. He not only played the role of an agent in both the cases, but was also instrumental in getting the job done. 

"On 26-09-2022, Shafi approached 52-year-old Padma, who used to sell lottery tickets at Kochi. Shafi lured her by offering Rs 15,000 for sex work. Then she agreed and went with Shafi to the home of Bhagaval Singh and Laila at Pathanamthitta district. There, the accused strangled her with a plastic cord around her neck to make her unconscious. After that, Shafi inserted knife into the vagina of Padma and then he cuts her throat for killing. After that, they cut her into 56 pieces and put it into buckets and then buried in the pit," the remand report said.

News18 quoted sources familiar with the probe saying that the accused couple was told by the prime accused, Shafi, that eating cooked human body parts would help them preserve youth.

According to the remand report, one of the victim women was cut into 56 pieces by the accused in the ‘human sacrifice’ case.