Kerala: Couple kills two women, buries chopped bodies; cops probe 'human sacrifice' angle

Two women, who were reported missing, have been killed by a couple in a suspected case of human sacrifice in Kerala's Thiruvala, police said on Tuesday.

The couple, identified as Bhagaval Singh and his wife Laila, used to run a massage centre near Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district in their home. The duo wanted to end their financial troubles and get rich, the police said. The couple and one more person, their agent, have been arrested today.

"The body of the lady who disappeared last month will be exhumed and will be sent for forensic experts. The motive of the crime has been confessed as human sacrifice and we got it from the statement of the couple and it was done for financial betterment," said Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju.

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It all began when the Ernakulam police started a probe after a 50-year-old woman went missing on September 27. After tracing the mobile call tower to Thiruvala, the police found that the woman was in touch with Shihab, an agent.

Another woman, also in her 50`s, went missing from the same area at Ernakulam. The mobile call tower locations and the calls made by the missing woman were also traced to Shihab. The police first took Shihab into custody, and the couple was also rounded up. The probe team was now trying to recover the bodies of the two missing women.

The victim's throats were slit, and their bodies were chopped into pieces and buried in different locations in Thiruvalla, the police said.

(With inputs from agencies)