Kerala ‘Human Sacrifice’: Police Missed Vital Clues in First Victim’s Abduction

Roselin Varghese's daughter says why a probe into her mother’s abduction could have prevented a second murder.

Manju Varghese learnt of her mother’s death from a group of eager media persons who landed at her house in Kerala’s Kottayam district on 11 October. As they told her that the remains of her mother’s body were allegedly exhumed from a home in Pathanamthitta district, the 29-year-old remembered a call she had received from Kalady Police over one month ago, in August.

“The police officials told me in August that my mother’s last recorded cell phone location was traced to Pathanamthitta district. Had they located her body then, we could have at least buried her, giving her eternal peace,” Manju Varghese told The Quint. While the authorities at Kalady Police Station, in the neighbouring Ernakulam district, from where Roselin went missing, confirmed to The Quint that they had traced her cell location in August, police officers in the know did not reveal why they could not locate her body back then.

Roselin, according to the police, was the first victim of the trio – Muhammed Shafi, Bhagaval Singh, and Laila Bhagaval Singh – who now stand accused of having committed the ritualistic murder or ‘human sacrifice’ of two women for material prosperity. All three accused were remanded to judicial custody on 12 October. Bhagaval Singh and Laila are married, and the murders of Roselin, 49, and Padma, 52, were allegedly committed at the couple’s residence in Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta district.

Based on conversations Roselin’s family members had with The Quint, it is, however, apparent that timely reporting and a thorough probe into the 49-year-old’s abduction could have prevented the second alleged murder.

'Roselin Was Living With Her Lover Who Did Not Report Her Abduction'

Roselin Varghese separated from her husband Sunny, who lives in Kattappana in Idukki district, about 15 years ago. The young mother of two, moved to Ernakulam to make a living and rented a place in the city. “She used to do cleaning work in people's homes to earn money and bring my brother and myself up. She was a hardworking woman,” Manju Varghese said.

As her children grew up, Roselin also ventured into the sale of Ayurveda goods in Ernakulam. She married off her daughter, who later moved to Uttar Pradesh with her husband. Roselin’s son Sanju Varghese, however, left home for work and remained aloof from his mother and sister.

In 2016, Roselin fell in love with Sajeesh and decided to live with him.

“I was not happy with this relationship. They were living together and I was not happy with it,” Manju said. Roselin's children were wary of her relationship also because Sajeesh was younger than her by a decade. “It was just not possible to make others understand that she was in love,” Manju said, hesitantly.

Did societal bias, which questions the moral standing of a middle-aged woman living with a younger man, prevent a thorough investigation into Roselin's abduction?

To begin with, it seems to have prevented her lover Sajeesh from approaching the police. While Roselin went missing on 8 June, Kalady Police was informed of this only in July when her daughter Manju Varghese reported the incident. Further, Manju lodged a formal complaint only on 17 August.

“Sajeesh did not approach the police or the family because he thought that my mother went to her hometown in Kainady, Alappuzha. He also did not approach her as he felt that the police would not look kindly at their live-in relationship,” Manju alleged. Sajeesh was not available for comment when The Quint reached out to him.

But why did Manju not contact the police sooner? According to her daughter, Roselin was known to misplace her phone. “I thought for almost a month that her phone was out of order or lost,” Manju said. Meanwhile, Sajeesh, too, did not reach out to the family as Roselin’s relatives had kept him at a distance.  

Clues Led Family to Public Bus Stand, Phone Led Police to Pathanamthitta

However, Manju was keen on finding her mother and was doing a parallel investigation on her own. When she contacted Roselin’s friend Ramya, she said that the woman who used to market Ayurveda products had recently taken to selling lottery tickets.

“I learnt that she used to sell lottery at KSRTC (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation) bus stand in Ernakulam. I informed the same to police, but they did not inquire further in August,” Manju alleged.

While the bus stand does not fall under the jurisdiction of Kalady Police, a probe by Ernakulam Police could have led to the recovery of CCTV footage from the location.

Now, Ernakulam Police believes that the accused Shafi lured Roselin by offering her Rs 10 lakh to act in an adult film and took her to Bhagaval Singh’s residence in Elanthur in Pathanamthitta district.

As per the remand report, a copy of which is with The Quint, Roselin was first gagged and tied to a cot at the Singh residence. Shafi then allegedly stabbed her vagina with a sharp knife and later beheaded her. Singh, his wife Laila, and Shafi allegedly cut her body into pieces and buried the remains in the plot where the married couple’s home is located.

It was only three months later, on 27 September, that another woman, Padma, was abducted by Shafi, who lured her to the couple’s home by offering her Rs 15,000. Had Roselin’s body been found, could the police have stopped Padma’s murder?

“We have been saying that the police should have located her earlier, especially when we told them that she was last found at the KSRCT bus stand. And when they traced her cell phone to Pathanamthitta, why did they not search for her further?” asked Manju.

Family Suspects That Roselin’s Background Prevented Thorough Probe

According to Manju, who currently does not have a job, her mother did not have financial constraints that could have forced her to enter the adult film trade. “She and her partner Sajeesh were earning. Throughout her life, she worked and provided for her family. How could she have entered the adult film trade?” a distraught Manju asked. Manju has completed her BEd and used to be a teacher in Uttar Pradesh. When she lost her job after the COVID-19 pandemic struck, she and her family returned to Kerala.

According to Manju’s close relative, who requested anonymity, Roselin’s family was also making a meagre living during the pandemic.

“Both Roselin and Manju’s husbands are masons and they have enough work to get by. The question is how she ended up in Ernakulam city to sell lottery,” the relative rued.

According to Manju, Roselin did not have enough contacts in Ernakulam to land the lottery gig. She was better known as an Ayurveda sales representative. “We need to know how this man convinced her to go with him. We are not sure that all the details have emerged,” Manju said, seeking respite from unanswered questions regarding her mother’s demise.

Manju said that the case got delayed only because the police held her mother’s character suspect. “They might have thought of her as a wayward woman who left her home. But for me, she was my mother,” Manju said.

For the family, the details are yet to sink in; but there’s work to be done. The Ernakulam Police has asked Manju to remain available for a DNA test to confirm that the remains exhumed from the Singh residence were indeed Roselin’s.

“I was the only one who was trying to get her back, constantly talking to the police. If she were rich and married, maybe they would have looked for her earnestly,” Manju said. Kalady Police refused comment on why the investigation did not lead to the accused till Ernakulam Police took over the case of the second missing woman, Padma.

Padma's relatives lodged a complaint in September, following which Ernakulam police narrowed down on Muhammed Shafi. Shafi was allegedly caught on a CCTV camera when he was escorting Padma to a car, in which he is believed to have taken her to her fatal end.