Man cuts off hand, offers to Kali

Kathmandu, July 31 (UNI) A man cut off his right hand and offered it to Goddess Kali in a temple in eastern Nepal today, local media reports said.

''Rajesh Tajpuriya, 22, a resident performed this rare antic this morning at the Kali Temple in Rangeli, all in one smooth action, to the utter surprise of the gaping priest,'' Nepal news report said.

''Tajpuriya, who had reached the temple as any other devotee would in the morning, asked the complacent priest to bring the 'khukuri' used to kill sacrificial animals and cut his own right hand without a least bit of emotion,'' the newspaper said.

It is said after presenting the hand to the goddess Kali, Ramesh made his way from there to the cab he had come in without saying anything. He is undergoing treatment at the local hospital.

A huge crowd of onlookers gathered there to see the unusual offering, which still lies in the temple.

''When reporters asked him what drove him to do such madness, he just kept his silence and looked away,''the newspaper reported.

UNI