Kerala 'human sacrifice' case: Police face a dilemma with delay in autopsy procedure

KOCHI : Police probing the ‘human sacrifice’ case is facing an unusual delay in obtaining the autopsy reports of the victims as their mutilated mortal remains were covered in dirt and mud. Official sources said the procedure has become a challenging task as doctors had to improvise, clean body parts during autopsy at Kottayam medical college.
Sources said autopsy of the remains of Padmam was nearing completion after 48 hours while the same procedure of the second victim, Rosly, will take longer since her remains had decomposed quite a bit. Police have calculated that Padmam was killed by the end of September while Rosly was killed in June.

According to the police remand report, the accused had cut up Padmam’s body into 56 pieces and moved it into a pit,which was dug earlier at the northern side of the house in Elanthoor, using buckets. This method, used to dispose of her body, has caused the delay in autopsy, said police sources. An officer privy to the information said the delay in autopsy will further delay a final report on the autopsy assessments and DNA analysis.
Meanwhile, interroga-tion of the accused – M Shafi (52), Bhagaval Singh (68) and Laila Bhagaval Singh (59) – began at Kochi police club on Thursday afternoon. The probe team is likely to take the trio to the house in Elanthoor for evidence collection on Saturday.

On Friday, police collected evidence at the house and restaurant of the prime accused, Shafi, in Kochi. Police said the team has located the ornaments of Padmam that were allegedly pawned by Shafi and the same would be recovered soon. Police also seized some documents from his house at Gandhi Nagar. Police are also looking into his vehicle, an SUV that was used to ferry the victims to Elanthoor. Friday’s inspection at Shafi’s home continued for nearly six hours. His restaurant near MG road was also checked.

Police also collected detailed statements from Shafi’s wife. Meanwhile, police have started investigating suspicious man-missing cases to see if any such incidents had a connection with the activities of the accused. On Thursday, police had informed the court that they had information that Shafi had travelled across the state and brought more persons to Pathanamthitta. Police are verifying this information to see if other persons were sacrificed in a similar way by the accused.