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17th April 2023
12:59pm BST
A husband and wife in India decapitated themselves using a home-made guillotine, police have said.
Hemubhai Makwana, 38, and his wife Hansaben, 35, "severed" their heads with a "guillotine-like mechanism" as part of a ritualistic sacrifice in Vinchhiya, Gujarat.
The couple executed the plan so that their heads fell into a "fire altar."
Vinchhiya Police sub-inspector Indrajeetsinh Jadeja said the "ritual" happened between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and the couple left a note urging their relatives to take care of their children and parents.
The letter also said they had killed themselves willingly, and that no one else was to blame.
The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination, and a case of accidental death has been registered.
“The couple first prepared a fire altar before putting their heads under a guillotine-like mechanism held by a rope. As soon as they released the rope, an iron blade fell on them, severing their heads, which rolled into the fire,” Jadeja said.
"We are recording statements of the family members and trying to know the reason behind the couple's extreme step," he told the Times of India.
The couple's family members learnt about the incident on Sunday morning and informed police.
They said the pair had been offering prayers in their home every day since last year, and had made a temporary temple with plastic bags used for packing food grains.
Police are taking statements from all family members to try to understand the "reason behind the couple's extreme step."
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