Indian farmer hacks off own tongue to appease Hindu goddess
- The 40-year-old’s act of self-mutilation triggered panic among the crowds at a popular temple in Uttar Pradesh over the weekend
- His wife told police her husband had ‘sacrificed’ his tongue to appease a goddess – but could not further explain why, an investigating officer said
An Indian farmer was left in a critical condition after slicing off his tongue as a sacrificial offering at a Hindu temple, police said.
Investigating officer Abhilash Tiwari said the man and his wife performed rituals before he pulled out the knife, severed his tongue and placed it at the temple’s door.
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“Our officers posted at the temple rushed him to the hospital with the help of other devotees,” Tiwari said.
The wife told police her husband “sacrificed” his tongue to appease a goddess but could not further explain why, Tiwari added.
Self-mutilation and even human sacrifice remain problems in India where a large segment of the population hold superstitious beliefs and sometimes perform bizarre acts to appease deities.
At least two similar incidents were reported in two Indian states last year when two men in their 20s chopped off their tongues and offered them to the gods.
