Pathanamthitta/ Kottayam: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the shocking human sacrifice case in Elanthoor recovered a bag and mobile phone belonging to the victim Rosly on Wednesday.
The evidence collection is however, proving to be a tough ask for the cops whose efforts to track down the anklet and mobile phone of the other victim Padmam.
The cops recovered the belongings of Rosly while acting on the information provided by Muhammed Shafi aka Rasheed, 52, the key accused and conspirator in the case.
Shafi, along with a couple- Bhagval Singh (68), a massage therapist, and his wife Laila (59)- murdered two women in cold blood in the name of black magic.
The two women – Rosly and Padmam – were allegedly sacrificed at the residence of the couple at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta in two different instances since June, to settle their financial issues and become prosperous, according to the police.
The body parts of the deceased were exhumed from the premises of the couple's house at Elanthoor village in Pathanamthitta on October 11.
Kochi City Commissioner C H Nagaraju said that evidence collection was going on for recovering personal assets, like gold ornaments or electronic items, of the victims and teams have also been dispatched out of station for gathering evidence.
Rosly's relatives confirmed that the mobile phone and bag belonged to her, police said. The officials refused to divulge more details on the place from which the evidence was retrieved.
Meanwhile, more blood samples were collected from the relatives of the two victims for DNA tests. Samples of Padmam's children and daughter, and Rosly’s daughter were taken. Once the DNA results arrive, the forensic medical examination which involves laying together the victims’ severed body parts will be done at the Kottayam Medical College.
Evidence collection
Meanwhile, police had limited success in their efforts to collect more material evidence on Wednesday.
The second and third accused Bhagval Singh and his wife Laila were taken to various parts of Pathanamthitta for evidence collection. The couple were taken to a shop in the town from where they purchased a knife, and to the house premises of a youth in Malayalapuzha who had availed treatment at their house in Elanthoor shortly after Padmam's murder. The cops also took them to a shop at Elanthoor, selling plastic coir and other things, and an outlet selling farming equipments. Nothing worthwhile could be gathered from these places. The accused remained inside the police vehicle during the entire duration.
The couple was then brought to their house at Elanthoor. Laila was taken inside. Bhagval Singh was asked to accompany the cops to a canal near the house based on their statements that they had disposed off Padmam’s mobile phone in the waters. The futile search, which started at 1.30 pm, extended for another two hours. Both were taken back to Ernakulam by 5.45 pm.
Cops search Kuttanad canal for Padmam’s anklet
Meanwhile, a team of divers, along with the police, searched AC Canal at Pallikoottumayil in Kuttanad for Padmam's anklets. Shafi had told the cops that he had dumped the silver anklet there after the crime. Though he was also taken to the site, nothing could be recovered.
The SIT also conducted an examination at the hotel owned by Shafi in Ernakulam based on an information that Shafi had brought the flesh of the victims to Kochi. The two women were brutally murdered at the Elanthoor house in the first week of June and last week of September. Shafi had told the accused couple that he knew certain persons consuming human flesh and that they could sell the flesh to the parties for a high price.