In a shocking case of blind faith trumping sense, a 11-year-old girl cut off her tongue and offered it at a Shiva temple in Sangeetarai village near the capital of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday.
11-year-old, Chameli Sidar, daughter of a farmer, Budheshwar Sidar, chopped off her tongue with a knife in front of a Shiva linga, following which she fell unconscious, Raigarh Sub-Divisional Magistrate Prakash Sarve said.
The official said that even after she regain consciousness, she started offering prayers again.
“When police and the district officials reached the spot, villagers prevented them from taking the child to the hospital citing that she will recover without any medical aid with the blessings of God,” the SDM said.
Meanwhile, the sarpanch of the village, Gopal told police that the girl was now doing fine. But as a precautionary measure a doctor has been deputed for ensuring medical aid to her.
The SDM further said that Chameli was keenly interested in performing religious rituals since childhood and has not been very interested in her studies. She had stopped going to school after Class V.
After news of the incident spread, people thronged the temple to catch a glimpse of the girl. But the reason behind her unusual sacrifice is still to be ascertained.
Incidentally, it’s not even the first time such an incident has been reported at the temple.
In the past, three similar incidents had taken place at the temple where girls had sacrificed their tongues to Lord Shiva, the villagers said. They also claimed that in all the cases the girls recovered without any medical treatment.
(With PTI inputs)