Kerala 'black magic' case: All three accused sent to 14 day judicial custody

The Ernakulam Magistrate Court on Wednesday remanded all the three accused of killing two women allegedly as a human sacrifice in black magic rituals in Kerala's Pathanamthitta on judicial custody.

The accused will be under judicial remand for a 14-day duration which will end on October 26.The accused were produced in the Ernakulam District Session Court today.

The issue came to the fore on Tuesday as three persons, including one woman, were suspected of luring and killing the women allegedly as a human sacrifice in black magic rituals, the City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju confirmed.

"Two dismembered bodies have been found buried inside the premises of a house in the Pathanamthitta district within 24 hours after they went missing," the police said."The murders were brutal; the women were killed within 24 hours after missing. The manner of killing is indescribable," Nagaraju said earlier.

According to the official, the murders took place on June 6 and September 26.Kadavanthra police registered the case in Kochi following the report of a missing woman which was filed in September. The arrested persons were identified as one Shafi, and the husband-wife pair of Bhagaval Singh and Laila.

"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." The CCTV footage was helpful in nabbing the accused," he added.

Union minister V Muraleedharan on Tuesday hit out at the Kerala government alleging a "delayed response" by the state police, and said that a member of the CPIM was involved in the incident.

"The delayed response of the Kerala Police smells foul & exposes that women are not secure in Kerala Is @pinarayivijayan Govt delaying it deliberately because of the involvement of a @CPIMKerala member? Disgusting that @CMOKerala remains mum when two women are brutally killed," the minister tweeted.