An Indian man was in critical condition on Sunday after he voluntarily cut off his tongue as an offering to a goddess at a Hindu temple, police said.
The abuse of the same farmer, a 40-year-old who used a knife, sparked panic on Saturday among the crowds that pressed into the temple in Uttar Pradesh (North).
Police investigator Abhelesh Tiwari told AFP that the farmer and his wife first performed their rituals, then took out a knife and cut off his tongue before placing it on the door of the temple.
“Police officers stationed in the temple rushed to him and took him to hospital with the help of the devotees,” Mr. Tiwari added.
According to him, the wife explained to the police that her husband “sacrificed” his tongue to please the goddess, but he could not give a reason for this act.
Acts of self-mutilation and even cases of human sacrifice continue in India as a large part of the population maintains superstitious beliefs and sometimes engages in strange acts to please the gods.
At least two similar incidents were reported in two Indian states last year: two men in their twenties cut off their tongues to offer to the gods.
In 2020, a Hindu priest beheaded a peasant and offered his head as a sacrifice, claiming that a god commanded him in a dream to do so.
