LUCKNOW: A 27-year-old man, believed to be mentally unstable, died after attempting to axe his head and offer it as a sacrifice to a deity in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah district on Monday morning.
According to police sources, the deceased has been identified as Rajesh Kumar Tiwari, also known as Kallu. The incident took place at his house in the Gandhi Nagar locality of Bakewar township at around 7 am. He was an alcoholic and had been mentally unstable. He was found lying in a pool of blood by his cousin while she was sweeping the stairs. She raised an alarm after seeing him and called other family members. He was then rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Family members told police that Rajesh had been “mentally disturbed” for a long time. Local sources said he lived alone on the ground floor of his house after losing both his parents, with his mother passing away when he was a child. His uncle and family live on the first floor, and relatives said he was brought up by his uncle.
Upon receiving information about the incident, police officials, including Station House Officer (SHO) of Bakewar police station Vipin Malik and Bharthana Circle Officer Ramdawan Maurya, reached the spot .
Sources close to the family said Rajesh had been behaving strangely for some time and often repeated that the “Goddess was seeking his sacrifice.” “This statement used to keep he atmosphere at house tense,” said a relative.
Relatives also said that Rajesh frequently argued with his uncle, asking him to vacate the house. On Sunday, he had reportedly injured his toe in a similar act.
Rajesh had married a woman named Rani from Jharkhand about two years ago, but she returned to her parental home within a month and did not come back. His uncle, Raj Kumar, said that the house and farming land had already been registered in Rajesh’s name, but he often picked fights over the issue. “He had picked up a fight with me on the same issue around 6-7 months ago and had also reported the matter to the local police authorities which helped striking a truce.”
Police have started an investigation, and the axe used in the incident has been recovered from the scene.
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