The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Kerala government, calling for a report in connection with the alleged human sacrifice that took place in the state early this week.

The Commission sought a report on the incident from the chief secretary and the director general of police of the state within four weeks.

In a letter, the commission said that the panel has taken ‘Suo Motu cognizance of a media report that two Kerala women, reported missing to police by their families, became victims of human sacrifice in a bizarre ritual orchestrated by a self-styled voodoo practitioner, professing to bring luck to a couple facing financial problems.’

The Commission further said in the letter that such incidents cannot be expected in a civilised society, where a human being is killed by another in the name of a ritual without any fear of law. The right to life of both the victims has been grossly violated. “The state, being the guardian of its citizens, is responsible for their safety and cannot escape its liability to protect them from such evil practices,” it said.

The NHRC has sought information on the status of the investigation of the case and whether any compensation was paid to the families of the victims.

Earlier this week, in a shocking incident that numbed human conscience, two women were sacrificed as part of black magic ritual purported to bring prosperity and wealth to a family at Elanthoor near Thiruvalla in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district.

The  police arrested Bhagaval Singh, an ayurvedic healer at Elanthoor, his wife Laila and sorcerer Mohammed Shafi alias Rashid, a resident of Gandhi Nagar in Kochi in  connection with the killings.

Meanwhile, the  Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala police,   probing the Elanthoor human sacrifice case on Saturday conducted a search on the premises of the house of the accused couple Bhagval Singh and Laila.

Following  indication that there are more dead bodies buried, the premises of the house of the accused  were  dug with JCB. For this purpose, the services of two dogs of the Belgian Malinois breed, which are skilled in detecting the smell of dead bodies, were taken. Dogs named Maya and Murphy were brought for the search.  The police team  searched the areas spotted by the dogs.

According to the police it was the same Belgian Malinois  breed dogs, that helped the United States capture Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and IS terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The police recovered a  piece of bone  from the spot where Roslin’s body exhumed. Forensic team will take the bone for scientific examination.

In this connection, Mohammad Shafi, Bhagwal Singh and Laila, who were arrested in the double human sacrifice case, have been brought from Kochi to Elanthoor on Saturday for evidence collection.