Man Chops Off Tongue 'To Appease Goddess' To Halt Coronavirus Spread

A man in the Indian state of Gujarat chopped off his tongue Saturday "to appease a goddess to curb the spread of the coronavirus" in the country.

Vivek Sharma, 24, worked as a stone sculptor at Bhavani Mata temple. Sharma, who was originally from the state of Madhya Pradesh, was employed for two months there along with his brother Shivam, local daily The Times of India reported.

Sharma’s co-worker Brijesh Singh Saab Singh told authorities that the former was a devotee of Kaali Mata, a highly revered Hindu goddess, and that he kept chanting the deity’s name. Singh said Sharma left the temple in the morning on the pretext of going to the market and never returned. When his brother called on his mobile, someone informed that Sharma had chopped off his tongue at Nadeshwari temple, located in Banaskuntha district’s Suigam Taluk.

Sharma was found in the temple with his tongue in hand. He reportedly did the tongue sacrifice to please the Nadeshwari goddess and to stop the spread of coronavirus.

However, the police said he did so in a fit of rage. “For few days, he was keen to go back to his native town in Madhya Pradesh. But it was impossible due to the lockdown. Today, in reckless abandon he chopped off his tongue,” HD Parmar, police sub-inspector of Suigam, said.

Police said a priest at the temple raised an alarm and Sharma was rushed to a hospital in Tharad town where doctors worked to reattach his tongue.

SK Vala, deputy superintendent of police in Tharad, said officials were investigating to pinpoint the exact cause of the incident.

People in India are finding it difficult to accede to the tight lockdown restrictions and are committing bizarre acts. Earlier this month, a teen in the state of Mangalore was arrested for trying to sneak his friend into his apartment by stuffing him in a suitcase because outsiders weren’t allowed inside the complex in the wake of the lockdown. Other residents became suspicious on seeing a movement inside whenever the suitcase hit a bump and informed police. The police intervened and everyone was shocked to see his friend step out of it.

The lockdown in the nation was imposed on March 25 until April 14. It was, however, extended until May 3 to clamp down on the COVID-19 spread.