Kerala IGP CH Nagaraju said: “Shafi is named in 10 cases and the crimes include rape, theft and attempt to murder over the past decade. Whenever he committed a crime, he developed ties and took others as partners. He took advantage of Bhagwal Singh’s weaknesses. And (his wife) Laila committed more crimes to win his trust. He is a cunning criminal who planned and executed this crime with the help of others.”
Responding to reports that they cooked and ate the victims’ meat, the police said the team was looking for evidence. The team is examining 61 body packets, in which 56 have been found in one pit and five parts of the skeleton in the other. Samples will be taken for DNA test. “Shafi dropped out in class VI and left home at the age of 17. He worked as a waiter, truck driver and mechanic. He traveled across the state and stayed at several places before settling in Ernakulam,” said the IGP.
A special team, led by DCP S Sasidharan, will probe the murders of 49-year-old Rosalie and 52-year-old Padmam – allegedly by Shafi and his associates Bhagwal Singh, 68, and 59-year-old, “to appease a goddess for financial prosperity”. Made by Laila.
Nagaraju said that Shafi befriended Singh and his wife in 2019 through a fake FB profile and promised financial prosperity. Then he introduced them to ‘Godman Rashid’ and asked them to please him.
Later, Shafi approached him as Rasheed. Over the past four years, Shafi’s influence on the couple has grown to total obedience. The police remand report had bloody details. It said that Shafi planned and lured two women, Rosalie and Padmam, to Singh’s house in Elanthur with the lure of money.
The trio held them hostage and killed them by torturing them separately. The report states that Laila beheaded Rosalie and Shafi hit Padmam’s chest and private parts. Padmam was offered Rs 15,000 for sex at Singh’s house from Shafi’s car at around 4 pm on 26 September. When she asked for his money, the trio tied her with a rope and she fainted. Later Shafi killed him and they cut him into 56 pieces for burial.
Rosalie was brought to Singh’s house in June to “act in a pornographic film”. He was offered Rs 10 lakh. The three strangled him by tying his hands and feet to the cot. The report said that she was tortured and killed by Singh. Shafi had deposited around Rs 3 lakh in cash from Singh and Laila. It could be more. Shafi’s wife defended her husband.
“We’ve been married for 24 years and I can’t believe he’s capable of committing such a gruesome crime,” she said.