As News.ro reports with reference to the BBC, police in the state of Kerala in southern India have arrested three people for allegedly killing two women during an alleged ritual involving human sacrifice.

The remains of the women, who were allegedly killed months apart, were found on Tuesday.

Police say the accused – a couple and another man – “tortured” the victims before killing them. The defendants allegedly confessed to the crime, an investigation is underway. They do not testify because they are with the police.

The horrific incident shocked India and the state of Kerala, which is considered one of the most progressive Indian states.

Police said the accused are Bhagawal Singh – a “healer” who practices Ayurvedic medicine – his wife Laila and Mohammed Shafi, an “occult practitioner” from Idukki district. On Wednesday, a court in the city of Kochi (Kochi) sent them to judicial custody for three weeks.

The killings took place more than four months ago and are suspected to be part of a ritual carried out for “financial gain”, Cochin Commissioner CH Nagaraju said.

He added that the motive for the crime was based only on a “preliminary assumption” and that he was conducting an investigation based on confessions.

“Black magic” is still practiced in some parts of India. People believe that the rituals can bring prosperity, help childless women have children, cure diseases and even bring more rain.

Police say the accused lured victims who were selling lottery tickets in Cochin with the promise of money and beheaded them before dismembering their bodies.

Human remains, believed to be female, were exhumed from Singh’s residence in Pathanamthitta district on Tuesday.

DNA samples of the remains were sent for testing after the women’s families were unable to identify the mutilated body parts recovered from the pit.

Photo: Dreamtime