From correspondents in Orissa, India, 12:00 PM IST

A man cut his tongue with a razor blade in an Orissa temple to appease a deity, the police said Wednesday.

Aswini Patel, 25, of neighbouring Chhattisgarh state visited Rourkela, some 500 km from here Tuesday, and went to a Shiva temple near the railway station.

He cut his tongue with a sharp blade and was spotted by the family members of the temple priest when he was trying to put the chopped piece of flesh near a statue of the deity, police inspector Prasanta Kumar Mohanty told IANS.

People rushed to the spot and moved him to a hospital, where he was stated to be out of danger, Mohanty said.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)