Two women were allegedly killed and their chopped body parts were found buried at Elantoor village in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district in two separate instances of 'human sacrifice' by three accused.
As Special Investigation Team (SIT) continues to investigate the case to know if more such cases have happened, several families throng the police stations as the relatives of missing family members fear that they too had met a similar fate, said The Hindustan Times report.
On Monday, prime accused Shafi was brought to the Police Club for interrogation. All three accused in the case will be under police custody till October 24.
Also read | Kerala Human Sacrifices: Special Investigation Team Formed To Probe Case
Earlier on October 12 (Wednesday), SIT was formed by Kerala police to investigate the murder of two women in a suspected case of human sacrifice. Three people -- Bhagaval Singh, his wife Laila and Shafi -- have been arrested. Singh was a traditional massage therapist. Singh and Laila are the natives of Thiruvalla. On Wednesday, a Kerala Court sent the accused to judicial custody for three weeks.
The women went missing in September and July following which a probe was launched. The victims, said to be in their near 50s and who sold lottery tickets in Cochin, were lured with the promise of money and were allegedly beheaded before chopping their bodies into 56 pieces. The police were also suspected of cannibalism.
Police say the accused "severely tortured" the victims before killing them. The women were reportedly tied and their breasts were chopped off with a knife.