Bianca Wooden
A married couple in India were found decapitated in their home in Gujarat after performing a ritual sacrifice.
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38-year-old farmer Hemubhai Makwana and his 35-year-old wife, Hansaben, used a homemade guillotine to commit suicide together, removing their heads in a sacrificial offering.
According to the Hindustan Times, police inspector Indrajeetsinh Jadeja reported the following:
“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.”
Gujarat Couple Found Beheaded at Home
Sadly, the deceased parents leave behind two children, ages 12 and 13. Before committing suicide, Makwana and his wife sent their kids to visit their uncle in neighboring village. The New York Post reports that it was the teenager and pre-teen who discovered the bodies upon returning home.
Initially, police feared that the decapitations were performed as part of a “black magic ritual.” However, a suicide note was found with the couple, entreating relatives to care for their children.
Times of India reported that the pair had fashioned a temple to Shiva from plastic bags on their farm, where they had been offering prayers for a year prior to their deaths. Police are continuing to investigate by getting statements from family members to determine the motivation behind the dual suicide.
Thus far, relatives of the deceased have not reported any domestic discord or financial trouble between Hemubhai and Hansaben that could have contributed to their decision to end their lives.
CBS noted that over 100 cases of human sacrifice have been reported in India between 2014 and 2021. However, almost none of these cases involved suicide, making the recent occurrence in Gujarat an outlier.
