Table of Contents

The Elanthoor Murders Executive Summary
The 2022 Elanthoor murders represent a chilling case study in the lethal convergence of psychopathy, psychological vulnerability, and archaic superstition. The crimes, which involved the abduction, torture, ritualistic murder, and dismemberment of two women in the Indian state of Kerala, were perpetrated by a trio: Muhammed Shafi, the psychopathic mastermind; and Bhagaval and Laila Singh, a married couple ensnared by his manipulative influence. This report posits that the murders were not a simple act of occultism but a manifestation of a folie à trois, or shared psychotic disorder, orchestrated by Shafi to facilitate his sadistic and paraphilic fantasies under the guise of a ritual aimed at securing financial prosperity for the Singhs.
The victims, Roslyn and Padma, were middle-aged women whose socio-economic marginalization and social isolation made them ideal targets for the perpetrators. The investigation that brought the trio to justice was a methodical application of modern policing techniques, which ironically exposed a crime rooted in pre-modern beliefs. Following the arrests in October 2022, the extreme brutality of the crimes, including allegations of cannibalism, sent shockwaves through Kerala, a state known for its high literacy and progressive social metrics. The case has since proceeded through the legal system, with chargesheets filed and the accused awaiting trial.
This report provides a comprehensive criminological and psychological analysis of the case, examining the profiles of the perpetrators and victims, the forensic details of the murders, the investigative process, and the broader societal implications. The Elanthoor case serves as a critical study in the dynamics of manipulative control, the deceptive nature of criminal pathology hiding behind a veneer of normalcy, and the persistent threat of ritualistic violence in contemporary society.
The Unraveling: From Missing Person to Ritual Homicide
The complex investigation that uncovered the Elanthoor murders began not with the discovery of a crime, but with a daughter’s concern for her mother. The case’s genesis was the missing person complaint filed for Padma, a 52-year-old lottery vendor, at the Kadavanthra police station on September 26, 2022. Her family, residing in Tamil Nadu, was immediately alarmed when she broke her unwavering daily routine of calling home, a small but crucial detail that prompted them to act swiftly. This initial report set in motion a chain of methodical police work that would soon expose a series of horrific events.
Methodical Police Work
The investigation was not a matter of chance but a testament to modern, evidence-based policing. The first and most critical breakthrough came from digital forensics. An analysis of Padma’s mobile phone records led investigators directly to the primary suspect, Muhammed Shafi. This digital trail was substantiated by a visual one. Police meticulously combed through CCTV footage, which provided the first tangible clue: an image of Padma boarding a white Scorpio SUV in the company of Shafi.
With a suspect and a vehicle identified, investigators used mobile tower location data to triangulate the SUV’s route. By cross-referencing this geolocation data with the CCTV trail, they traced the vehicle’s journey from Kochi to the small village of Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta district, ultimately pinpointing the residence of Bhagaval and Laila Singh as the final destination. The convergence of these distinct technological tools—mobile records, surveillance cameras, and cell tower tracking—demonstrates a compelling paradox at the heart of the case: a crime motivated by archaic, superstitious beliefs was systematically unraveled through the dispassionate and rational application of 21st-century technology. The tools of modernity were used to expose a crime driven by a rejection of it.
The Confession and Revelation
The interrogation of Shafi provided the initial breakthrough, which was quickly followed by the questioning of the Singhs. The couple’s “suspicious behaviour” during initial inquiries heightened police scrutiny. Under pressure, they confessed not only to the murder of Padma but also revealed the existence of an earlier victim: Roslyn, another woman who had gone missing months prior.
The speed with which the entire criminal enterprise unraveled once Shafi was identified underscores his role as the central nexus. Roslyn had disappeared in June, but the investigation into her case had languished. Without the technological footprint left during Padma’s abduction in September, the first murder might have remained a cold case, highlighting the critical role of the digital trail in solving serial crimes.
The confessions led to a grim discovery at the Singhs’ property. Investigators unearthed the dismembered remains of both women, which had been buried in several pits dug in the backyard. In a detail that suggests a deliberate effort at deep concealment, police had earlier brought two trained cadaver dogs to the property, but they were unable to locate the remains.
Anatomy of a Folie à Trois: The Perpetrators
The Elanthoor murders were the product of a toxic synergy between three individuals, forming a classic criminal triad. Their dynamic can be best understood as a folie à trois, or shared psychotic disorder, in which a dominant, psychopathic individual imposes a delusional belief system upon susceptible partners.
The Architect of Depravity: Muhammed Shafi
Muhammed Shafi was the undisputed architect of the crimes. Police profiles and court documents consistently describe him as a “psychopath,” a “sexual pervert,” and a “sadist who delights in cruelty”. His motivations appear to have been primarily sadistic and sexual, with the “ritual” serving as a meticulously crafted pretext to enact his violent paraphilias with the assistance of willing accomplices.
This is substantiated by a long and violent criminal history, including approximately 10 prior cases of rape, theft, and attempted murder. A 2020 case, in which he was accused of raping a 75-year-old woman and mutilating her genitals, serves as a clear precursor to the Elanthoor murders and establishes a signature element of his violence. At the time of the murders, he was out on bail for this very crime.
Shafi’s manipulation of the Singhs was sophisticated and methodical. He first established contact with Bhagaval Singh through a fake female Facebook profile named “Sreedevi”. Posing as a woman, he built trust and learned of the couple’s financial desperation. He then introduced his own alias, “Rasheed,” a powerful tantric practitioner who could solve their problems through ritual. This two-step deception allowed him to present himself as the solution to a need he had cultivated.
The “ritual” he designed, with its specific acts of torture and mutilation, aligned perfectly with his pre-existing sadistic tendencies. He effectively weaponized the couple’s superstition to create a bespoke murder scenario that fulfilled his unique paraphilic interests, convincing them it was for their benefit when it was, in reality, for his gratification.
The Healer’s Façade: Bhagaval Singh
Bhagaval Singh, a 60-year-old traditional healer and masseur, presented a starkly contrasting public persona. He was known in his community as a “mild-mannered” and “polite” social worker and a poet who posted Haikus on his Facebook page. Hailing from a respected family of healers and having attended Kerala University, he cultivated an image of education and respectability. This public image functioned as a “mask of sanity,” providing the social camouflage necessary for the crimes to occur without suspicion.
Beneath this façade lay significant vulnerabilities. His deep financial troubles were the primary lever Shafi used to manipulate him. Furthermore, neighbors noted a shift in his personality after his second marriage to Laila, observing that he had become more “religious,” which may suggest a pre-existing inclination towards superstitious beliefs that Shafi expertly exploited. The profound cognitive dissonance between his public self and his private actions suggests a powerful capacity for compartmentalization.
His final, cryptic poem posted after Padma’s murder—”A furnace, blacksmith’s wife at work, her body bent over”—could be interpreted as a fractured expression of this internal conflict. Bhagaval Singh’s social capital was not merely a disguise; it was a crucial asset in the criminal enterprise. His respectability was weaponized by Shafi, making the case a chilling example of how evil can thrive behind a façade of normalcy.
The Compliant Accomplice: Laila Singh
Laila Singh was far from a passive bystander; she was an active and willing co-conspirator. Confessional statements indicate that she played a direct role in the violence, allegedly strangling Roslyn and participating in the subsequent mutilation and dismemberment of the victims. Her deep culpability was later affirmed by the Kerala High Court in January 2024 when it dismissed her bail plea, with the judge noting the crime “shattered the conscience of society as a whole”.
The interpersonal dynamics of the trio were complex. Police sources have indicated that Shafi may have engaged in a physical relationship with Laila, which he passed off as a necessary component of the ritual. This suggests a powerful psychological and coercive bond that may have superseded her marital allegiance, securing her unwavering participation in the brutal acts.
While less is known of her background, her actions demonstrate a high degree of suggestibility and a shared delusional belief system that was induced and amplified by Shafi. Together, the three individuals created a synergistic effect where the whole was far more dangerous than the sum of its parts. Shafi provided the sadistic methodology and the victims; the Singhs provided the location, the veneer of normalcy, and the labor to carry out and conceal the crimes.
The Victims of Elanthoor: Profiles in Vulnerability

The selection of the victims, Padma and Roslyn, was not random. It was a calculated act of predation that targeted individuals based on a specific profile of vulnerability. Their tragic deaths are an indictment not only of their killers but also of the societal conditions that rendered them susceptible.
Padma, aged 52, was a lottery vendor who had migrated from Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, to Kochi. She lived alone in a single room, working to support her ailing husband and two children back home. Her financial precarity and social isolation made her an ideal target. Shafi exploited her desperate need for money, luring her with promises of ₹15,000 for sex work or a much larger sum for acting in a film.
Roslyn, aged 49, shared a similar profile. Originally from Thrissur, she also sold lottery tickets and was living a transient life in Kalady after a fractured marriage, estranged from her primary family support network. Her precarious living situation was such that after she was murdered in June, her disappearance was not reported to the police by her daughter until mid-August, giving the perpetrators a crucial two-month period free from investigation.
The common denominators in their lives are stark. Both were middle-aged women engaged in precarious work on the fringes of the urban economy, and both were living away from their families. Shafi, who ran a small roadside eatery, likely identified them from his daily interactions, methodically selecting them based on their perceived vulnerability and isolation. Their selection represents a form of systemic violence, where societal neglect and economic hardship create a class of individuals who are disproportionately targeted by predators. The crime, therefore, is not just about the deviant actions of three individuals, but also about a society that allows such profound vulnerability to exist and go unnoticed.
The Rituals of Death: A Criminological Analysis of the Murders
The murders were characterized by extreme, ritualized violence and a chillingly logical progression from one killing to the next. The chronology is clear: Roslyn was murdered on June 6, 2022, followed by Padma on September 26, 2022. The justification for the second murder reveals the manipulative logic employed by Shafi. He convinced the Singhs that the first sacrifice of Roslyn had “didn’t work” due to “ritualistic problems,” thereby necessitating a second, more potent sacrifice to achieve their goal of financial prosperity.
This is not rational problem-solving; it is the logic of compulsion and addiction. For Shafi, the “ritual” itself was the product, not the financial outcome. He created a self-perpetuating cycle of violence by engineering a “problem”—a flawed ritual—that only he could “solve” by repeating the crime he found gratifying.
The forensic details, drawn from police reports and chargesheets, paint a gruesome picture. Both women were bound, tortured, and subjected to horrific sexual mutilation with knives. Their breasts were chopped off, and their throats were slit after they were strangled or garroted. The bodies were then brutally dismembered to facilitate burial and concealment. Padma’s body was reportedly hacked into 56 pieces and temporarily stored in a bucket before being interred in pits on the property.
Adding another layer of horror to the case were the allegations of cannibalism. Police stated it was a strong “possibility” they were investigating, with reports suggesting the accused confessed to cooking and consuming parts of the victims’ flesh. Shafi allegedly convinced the Singhs that this act would bestow youth or other supernatural benefits. The official chargesheet filed in the Padma murder case cites utensils suspected of being used to cook human flesh as key evidence. While the accused later denied the claims to reporters, the evidence presented by the prosecution suggests it remains a central element of the case.
The Path to Justice: Investigation, Chargesheets, and Trial
Given the case’s complexity and high-profile nature, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to oversee the probe. The SIT conducted a thorough investigation, which included extensive evidence collection and crime scene re-enactments using dummies to corroborate the accused’s confessions.
By January 2023, the SIT had filed two comprehensive chargesheets, one for each murder. The first, for the murder of Padma, was a 1,600-page document detailing the accounts of 166 witnesses and citing 147 pieces of evidence. It formally charged the trio with a range of offenses, including murder, rape, criminal conspiracy, abduction, and destruction of evidence. Crucially, it also included references to the evidence supporting the allegation of cannibalism. The second chargesheet, for the murder of Roslyn, was filed shortly thereafter and was built heavily on circumstantial and scientific evidence, as direct evidence was more limited in her case.
Since their arrests in October 2022, all three accused have remained in judicial custody. Multiple bail applications have been denied. A significant legal development occurred in January 2024, when the Kerala High Court dismissed Laila Singh’s bail plea. The court’s observations were telling; Justice Sophy Thomas described the alleged offenses as “really shocking and beyond human imagination” and a “shame to the entire humanity,” signaling the judiciary’s view of the gravity of the crime and her active role in it. The court also urged the trial court to proceed with the trial without any further delay. As of October 2024, two years after the crimes came to light, the trial is still pending.
The table below summarizes the key legal details for each accused.
Accused | Date of Arrest (Approx.) | Key Charges Filed (Consolidated) | Chargesheet Details (Padma Case) | Current Legal Status (as of Oct 2024) |
Muhammed Shafi | October 10, 2022 | Murder, Rape, Criminal Conspiracy, Abduction, Destruction of Evidence, Disrespect to Dead Body | Prime accused and key conspirator; derived sadistic pleasure. 1,600 pages, 166 witnesses. | In judicial custody; Bail pleas denied. Awaiting trial. |
Bhagaval Singh | October 10, 2022 | Murder, Criminal Conspiracy, Abduction, Destruction of Evidence, Disrespect to Dead Body | Second accused; Motivated by financial gain. 1,600 pages, 166 witnesses. | In judicial custody; Bail pleas denied. Awaiting trial. |
Laila Singh | October 10, 2022 | Murder, Criminal Conspiracy, Abduction, Destruction of Evidence, Disrespect to Dead Body | Third accused; Motivated by financial gain. 1,600 pages, 166 witnesses. | In judicial custody; Bail plea denied by High Court (Jan 2024). Awaiting trial. |
A Mirror to Society: Superstition and Violence in Modern India
The Elanthoor case provoked a profound societal shock, particularly because it occurred in Kerala, a state widely celebrated for its high literacy rates, progressive social movements, and development indicators. This “Kerala Paradox” challenged the comforting assumption that education and modernity serve as effective bulwarks against deep-seated superstitious beliefs. The horror was not just about the crime’s brutality, but about its violation of the state’s collective identity as an enlightened society. It forced a confrontation with the uncomfortable truth that modernity in Kerala may be a veneer that has not fully displaced archaic belief systems.
The case quickly became a media sensation, with national and international headlines focusing on the gruesome details of “human sacrifice” and “cannibalism”. The public reaction was one of widespread revulsion, which shattered the state’s self-image and prompted intense soul-searching. The incident also sparked political fallout, with opposition parties criticizing the police for their initial slow response to the missing person reports and alleging that Bhagaval Singh had links to the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), a claim the party denied.
In the aftermath, there were widespread calls for the government to enact new, stringent legislation to combat crimes related to superstition and black magic, similar to laws already in place in states like Karnataka. While the Elanthoor case stands out for its extreme sadistic violence and the unique psychological dynamic of its perpetrators, it fits within a broader, troubling pattern of ritualistic violence in India.
National crime data and case studies reveal a persistent trend of such crimes, often motivated by desires for wealth, fertility, or power, with victims disproportionately being children and marginalized women. The Elanthoor murders serve as a grim reminder that these violent belief systems endure, capable of being exploited by predators in any part of the country.
Concluding Analysis and Future Implications
The Elanthoor human sacrifice case is a multifaceted crime that defies simple categorization. At its core, it is a story of a predatory psychopath who skillfully weaponized superstition to orchestrate a series of murders that fulfilled his sadistic desires. Muhammed Shafi identified and exploited the specific financial and psychological vulnerabilities of Bhagaval and Laila Singh, inducing a shared delusional state that enabled them to become willing participants in his grotesque theater of cruelty. The trio formed a lethal symbiosis, a folie à trois where each member played a distinct but interconnected role in the commission of the crimes.
From a criminological perspective, the case is a significant modern example of ritualistic homicide. It offers critical lessons for law enforcement on the importance of psychological profiling and understanding complex manipulator-accomplice dynamics, especially in cases where bizarre motives may obscure more conventional criminal pathologies like sexual sadism. The pending trial is poised to set important legal precedents regarding shared culpability in such intricate criminal conspiracies.
Socially, the case has forced a difficult conversation in Kerala and beyond about the persistence of dangerous superstitions in the face of modernity. While the calls for anti-superstition legislation are a direct response to this horror, the case raises the deeper question of whether laws alone can eradicate the deep-rooted beliefs and socio-economic desperation that create fertile ground for such manipulation.
Ultimately, the story of the Elanthoor murders is a story of its victims, Roslyn and Padma. Their lives, lived on the margins of society, were tragically extinguished by a confluence of psychopathy, greed, and irrational belief. Their deaths serve as a stark and enduring reminder of the real-world consequences of these abstract forces and have left a permanent scar on the conscience of a society that prides itself on progress. The case is a cautionary tale about the darkness that can hide behind the most ordinary of facades, waiting for the right combination of vulnerability and depravity to be unleashed.
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