AHMEDABAD: In a bizarre incident, a 35-year-old man, Ramveer Singh Baghel , cut his tongue and offered it to appease goddess Amba at a temple in Meghaninagar on Sunday morning. Devotees, who found him bleeding profusely from his mouth, treated him like a deity and anointed his forehead instead of rushing him to the hospital. Surrounded by devotees, he had not received any medical attention till late evening on Sunday. Baghel too has chosen to stay in the temple.

���He is a devout man and kept fasts and other religious penance twice a year for Navratri and Chaitri Navratri. This Navratri, he was being guided by a sadhu to eat just once a day and chant mantras continuously. He told me in gestures that he dreamt on Saturday night that Mataji appeared before him and asked for a sacrifice. He chose to offer his tongue,��� said Suresh Baghel, his uncle.

Baghel, who is unmarried, migrated from Bhind, Madhya Pradesh some 20 years ago. He stays at Kismatnagar in Meghaninagar and works as painter for building contractors. Early on Sunday, devotees thronging the Amba Mata temple spotted Baghel at 5 am with blood oozing from his mouth. When they enquired, he pointed to the deity���s feet where they saw his tongue lying. A blade was also found in a corner of the temple. The devotees then washed off the blood stains and gave him a fresh pair of clothes.

As news spread that a man had chopped off his tongue, people started pouring in to see him. Some even garlanded him and took out a small procession in his honour. ���His tongue is still lying in the temple. There is no chance of corrective surgery now. The devotees are not ready to take him to a hospital,��� said a local resident on condition of anonymity.

BR Pandor, deputy commissioner of police said, ���There is little we can do until a police complaint is filed. However, we are trying to ensure that the man at least gets some medical attention.���