An Indian father-of-two bled to death after cutting out his own tongue as a sacrifice to a Hindu goddess

Deepak Kol, 28, collapsed minutes after using a knife to chop off the vital organ during the holy festival of Navratri. But instead of taking him to the hospital, Deepak's desperate family and festival worshippers tried to resurrect him by singing hymns and praying. "We kept praying until 4am in the morning, hoping that Devi [Hindu goddess] would instill life in my son's body," his father Sukhdeo, a farmer, said. "When that did not happen, I knew that the Goddess has given Deepak a place in her lotus feet." Deepak, from Kharhata village, northern India, had been fasting for days before he removed his tongue in tribute to Durga, the goddess of good triumphing over evil.