The 24-year-old Indian man was recently hospitalized after he allegedly cut off his tongue as an offering to the Hindu goddess Kali Mata, to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Odditycentral.com.
Vivek Sharma, a young stone sculptor working in Suigam, India’s Gujarat state, became frustrated about not being able to return to his home town in Madhya Pradesh, because of nationwide lockdowns.
Out of desperation to be out of the woods fast, he reportedly chopped off his tongue at a temple, as an offering to the Hindu goddess Kali Mata, to stop the spread of the virus.
He reportedly told his friends with whom he was working on an extension of the Bhavani Mata temple in Suigam last week that he was going to the market during a break but when they tried calling his cellphone, a stranger told them that Vivek had been found unconscious in a nearby temple with his tongue cut off.
Reports say the devout Hindu was reportedly found on the floor of the Nadeshwari Temple, and then taken to a hospital in Tharad where doctors attempted to reattach his tongue but it’s unclear if the medical procedure was successful, and if will ever be able to speak again.
A source in the police department told the Times of India that Sharma had cut out his tongue as a sacrifice to Kali Mata, to make he stop the spread of the coronavirus so that things would return to normal.
“We found him lying unconscious in the temple premises with the tongue in his hand,” the source said.
Police sub-inspector HD Parmar told the Times of India: “For the last few days, he was keen to go back to his native town in Madhya Pradesh. But it was impossible due to lockdown. Today, in reckless abandon, he chopped off his tongue. Only after a thorough investigation we will know the exact reason for such a step.”