An Indian farmer was in a critical condition on Sunday after slicing off his tongue as a sacrificial offering at a Hindu temple.
The 40-year-old's act of self-mutilation with a pocket knife triggered panic at the popular temple in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
Police told AFP the man and his wife performed rituals before he pulled out the knife, cut off his tongue and placed it at the temple's door.
The wife told police her husband "sacrificed" his tongue to appease a goddess but could not further explain why.
In 2020, a Hindu priest decapitated a farmer and offered the head as a sacrifice, claiming he had dreamt that a deity told him to do so.