Indian man amputates his own finger after accidentally voting for the wrong party in national election

An Indian man chopped off his index finger in desperation after voting for the wrong party in the country’s national election.

Pawan Kumar became confused by the symbols on the electronic voting machine and voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party instead of its regional rival in Uttar Pradesh state on Thursday, his brother told AFP.

Distraught, the 25-year-old Kumar went home and chopped off his finger with a meat cleaver.

Even though votes are cast electronically at polling stations, the index finger of every voter is marked with indelible ink after they cast ballots, to make sure they do not vote again.

“He was very happy that he was voting for the first time ever,” Kumar’s brother Kailash Chandra told AFP by phone.

“But once he realised his mistake, he was so distraught that he chopped off his inked finger.”