Occult practitioner among three arrested in India for killing two women in 'human sacrifice' ritual

A self-proclaimed occult practitioner is among three people arrested on Wednesday for allegedly killing two women as human sacrifices in India.

According to reports by AFP, the murders were conducted in hopes that the killers would become rich.

A couple, experiencing financial woes, is said to have paid Mohammed Shafi $3,640 (about R66,800) to “arrange” two people who were “brutally abused and killed” in separate rituals three months apart, police spokesperson Pramod Kumar told AFP.

The couple, Bhagaval Singh and wife Laila from the southern state of Kerala, were told by Shafi that “human sacrifice was the way to great riches”.

Shafi was described by police as a “sexual pervert” who was previously accused of rape, and “enticed” the first victim to Singh's home in June under false pretences that she would get a role in a movie.

When their fortunes did not change, the couple complained to the occult practitioner, who convinced them to perform a second sacrifice, investigators said.

“We were already investigating the case of the first missing woman when we found the last mobile phone location of [another] woman who went missing in September was also around the couple's home,” Kumar said.

The two women made a living by selling lottery tickets from house to house. Their mutilated bodies were buried in the couple's compound. Police are investigating if Shafi was also involved in other cases.

The couple's neighbours said the husband described himself as a traditional healer.

The Hindustan Times newspaper reported the neighbours said “it was difficult for them to believe he was a party to gory murders”.

“Many people used to come here for treatment for fractures, bruises and other such ailments. We never suspected anything foul and he was well-mannered,” Gopan K said.

According to experts, belief in witchcraft and the occult is still widespread in many parts of rural India, where occasional incidents of human sacrifice have been reported.

Earlier in October, two men were arrested for allegedly killing a six-year-old child in the capital, New Delhi, reports said.

The construction workers told police they were under the influence of cannabis and murdered the boy as a sacrifice to the Hindu god Shiva in a bid to get rich.

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