Durg : A 33-year-old man cut off his tongue to offer it to god in Durg district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, police said. The incident took place this morning at Thanaud village under the Anjora police chowki limits, a local police official said.

As per the preliminary information, Rajeshwar Nishad went to a pond in the village and after reciting some mantras, chopped off his tongue with a knife and placed it on a stone on the bank of the water body.

When villagers spotted him bleeding in the temple, they called an ambulance and shifted him to the district hospital here, he said. On being informed, a police team reached the spot, he said.

According to villagers, Nishad's wife is mute (unable to speak) and he sacrificed his tongue to offer to lord Shiva to fulfil some wish. However, the exact reason is yet to be ascertained, the official said. Police have recovered the knife used by the Nishad, he said.

Prima facie, the incident appears to be a case of superstition, he said, adding that further investigation was underway.