Human Sacrifice: Kerala High Court dismisses plea by accused against police custody

The Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed a plea by the three accused persons in the human sacrifice challenging the order of a Magistrate Court that had granted the custody of the accused to the police for 12 days [Muhammed Shafi v State of Kerala]..Justice Kauser Edappagath accepted the argument of the prosecution that the accused cannot dictate the manner of investigation."As rightly argued by the learned DGP, the accused cannot dictate in what manner the investigation has to be carried out. I see no illegality or impropriety in the impugned order. Therefore this revision petition is liable to be dismissed," the Court ordered.The Court also noted that the Magistrate court had considered all relevant aspects before remanding the accused to police custody."The grounds raised by the investigating officer for custody would show that the above mentioned 22 specific areas have to thoroughly investigated considering the peculiar nature of the case. Those were taken into account by the court below while passing the order. Thus, it is clear that the court below passed the impugned order with great care and caution," the High Court observed.However, the Court ordered that the lawyer for the accused be allowed to meet the accused for fifteen mins every alternate day.Advocate BA Aloor appeared for the accused.Director General of Prosecution, Senior Advocate TA Shaji appeared for the State..On October 13, Judicial First Class Magistrate Eldose Mathew had remanded the accused, Muhammed Shafi (alias Rashid), Bhagaval Singh, and Laila Bhagawal Singh, to 12 days police custody.Just a day prior, the same court had remanded them to 14 days judicial custody.The period of police custody will end on October 24.Subsequently, all three accused, represented by advocate BA Aloor, approached the High Court with the present revision petition challenging the said order..In the plea, the petitioners contended that the entire prosecution case is false and built on wrong information bolstered by inadmissible evidence, that would not stand up to scrutiny.The petitioners alleged that the police have been leaking information to the media even after the FIR was forwarded to the Magistrate, thereby breaking rules of conduct and putting undue pressure on the trial court. They further claimed that the information being leaked to the media is defaming their dignity.It is also contended that there is every possibility that the petitioners will be ill-treated by the police, both physically and mentally, during the 12 days of custody..On the other hand, the prosecution submitted that there is absolutely no illegality or impropriety in the order passed by the Margistrate as it was done after taking into account the detailed application filed by the investigating officer highlighting the grounds for getting the police custody. It was further contended that this is a peculiar case which stunned the conscience of the society and the investigation has to be carried out in different dimensions and for the said purpose, police custody for 12 days is absolutely necessary. .The news of human sacrifice came to light in the State when the dismembered bodies of two women were recovered on Tuesday from Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district.It was an investigation into two missing women that led State police to a human sacrifice ring.The two women were lottery ticket sellers in Ernakulam and they went missing in June and September this year. Neither women had families in Kerala.Three persons were apprehended this week for the alleged murder of the women, believed to have been committed as part of an act of human sacrifice.The police arrested Shafi for allegedly for arranging the abduction and committing the sacrificial murder. The other accused, married couple Bhagaval Singh and Laila, were also taken into custody for suspicion of having commissioned and taken part in the sacrificial murder.The police allegations stated that Shafi had lured the women under the pretext of offering them lumpsums in cash for doing sex work and acting in some porn films. Shafi had allegedly contacted the Singhs on social media and a plan to commit human sacrifice, supposedly for financial prosperity was hatched. The women were then taken to the Singh's home where they were allegedly murdered in a gruesome manner, dismembered and buried in the yard of the house..[Read Order]