A 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.

From putting quarantine offenders in haunted houses to people locking spouses in the bathroom, we’ve seen people do some pretty extreme things to stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, but Vivek Sharma, a young stone sculptor working in Suigam, India’s Gujarat state, takes the cake. Frustrated about not being able to return to his home town in Madhya Pradesh, because of nationwide lockdowns, Sharma reportedly chopped off his own tongue at a temple, as an offering to Hindu goddess Kali Mata, to stop the spread of the virus. So far his sacrifice has proven to be in vain…

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Last week, Vivek, who was working on an extension of the Bhavani Mata temple in Suigam along with eight other stone workers, told his colleagues that he was going to the market during a break. No one thought much of it at the time, but then he never returned. When they tried calling his cellphone, they were surprised to hear the voice of a stranger telling them that Vivek had been found unconscious in a nearby temple with his tongue cut off.

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. However, it is too early to tell if the medical procedure was successful, and if the 24-year-old will ever be able to speak again.

Although he hasn’t yet been able to tell police what exactly happened in the temple, a source in the police department told the Times of India that Sharma had cut out his tongue as a sacrifice to Kali Mata, asking her to stop the spread of the coronavirus so things could go back to the way they used to be and he could return home.

Photo: India Photo Agency

“We found him lying unconscious in the temple premises with the tongue in his hand,” the source said.

“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,” police sub inspector HD Parmar told the Times of India. “Only after thorough investigation we will know the exact reason for such a step.”

One of Vivek’s co-workers, Brijesh Singh Saab Singh, told authorities that Sharma, a devotee of Kali Mata, had kept chanting the deity’s name for a while.