NEW DELHI – An Indian couple has reportedly died by suicide by beheading themselves in a sacrificial ritual using a guillotine-like mechanism, police said on Sunday.
Hemubhai Makwana, 38, and his wife Hansaben, 35, both died by beheading after using a homemade blade mechanism in a hut on their farm in western Gujarat state, police said.
“The couple first prepared a fire altar before placing their heads under a guillotine-like mechanism held by a rope,” Indrajeetsinh Jadeja, a police sub-inspector, was quoted as saying by Indian news outlets. “As soon as they let go of the rope, an iron blade fell on them and severed their heads, which rolled into the fire.”
Fire is considered sacred in Hinduism and plays a significant role in several worship rituals. The couple apparently designed the device used in their decapitation so that their heads would roll into the fire altar, completing their sacrificial ritual.
A file photo shows people lighting candles for a Hindu religious ceremony during a Dev Diwali festival in Varanasi, India. Getty/iStockphoto
Police, who said they found a suicide note addressed to family members, launched an investigation. The couple leaves behind two children and their parents.
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The incident happened sometime between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon when police were alerted.
According to reports, family members told police that the couple had been praying in the hut every day for the past year.
Ritual human sacrifice is not unknown in India, where official data shows more than 100 cases were reported between 2014 and 2021. But almost all known cases of human sacrifice involve people killing others to please gods, rather than themselves.
Earlier this month, Indian police arrested five men for the 2019 murder of a woman at a Hindu temple in Guwahati, which they believe was a ritual human sacrifice.
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