Nearly two months after the second victim of the human sacrifice in Kerala went missing, her family finally got some sort of closure on Saturday, November 19. The body of Padmam, a 52-year-old lottery seller, was handed over to her son, Selvaraj and the family were able to conduct the funeral at Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri where she was originally from. Padmam’s body was exhumed in 56 parts from Elanthoor in Kerala on October 11, where the horrific crime took place.
The macabre double-murder that shook Elanthoor, a sleepy village in the Pathanamthitta, came to light on October 11—the same day, Padma’s body was exhumed. The other victim, Rosily and Padmam were murdered within the span of three months reportedly for ritual sacrifice for an educated couple’s ‘prosperity’.
Both women were lured by Muhammad Shafi (52), the first accused, to come to the house of the second and third accused Bhagaval Singh (68) and Laila (59), under false premises. Padmam was promised an amount of Rs 15,000 for doing sex work and Rosily was told she was to act in an adult film. Shafi had apparently convinced Bhagaval Singh, an Ayurveda practitioner with the public image of being a rationalist, that human sacrifice could bring him prosperity. Padmam and Rosily had been subjected to excruciating ritual torture, before they were killed, police discovered at the time. It was a missing complaint filed by Padmam’s sister Palaniamma that led the police to the house of the accused.
Speaking to TNM, Selvaraj said that they can finally start working again. He had lost his job at a Chennai-based IT firm after he had taken extended leave since his faith did not allow him to work before the last rites have been completed. The family has been largely living off savings and the income of one relative who has had no choice but to break tradtion. Selvaraj plans to begin looking for a job now, since the funeral for his mother is over.
Earlier, in October, Selvaraj had told TNM that he had been unable to disclose to his office manager at the time that his mother had been murdered. He had initially told them that Padmam had health issues that he had to see to, while having to undertake the desperate search for the missing woman. His wedding, which was supposed to take place this year, has also been put off. He had been living with his mother’s sister in a rented flat in Kerala’s Ernakulam since September 26, the day after Padman went missing. The family had described their situation, in the midst of the tragedy, as a state of limbo, not knowing when the funeral rites could be completed and when they would be able to work again.
Inputs IANS