Drunk priest 'mistakenly' slaughters human instead of goat; arrested

Chandigarh, January 19

In a shocking incident, a youth was allegedly beheaded by mistake during a ritual where goat was to be sacrificed.

The incident was reported at a village festival in Valasapalle hamlet near Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor on Sunday during Sankranti celebrations.

The victim has been identified as 35-year-old man Suresh. He was holding the goat meant for sacrifice when the tragedy took place.

However, the priest ended up cutting the throat of Suresh instead of the goat, reports United News of India (UNI) news agency. Suresh was married and had two children.

According to UNI, the sacrifice happened as part of the animal festival Kanuma, also known as Pasuvula Panduga, which happens on the third day of the Sankranthi in Andhra Pradesh.

It was organised at the local Yellamma temple, dedicated to the patron goddess of Andhra Pradesh.

Suresh was bleeding profusely and rushed to Madanpelle government hospital where he was declared dead. Local reports said that Chalapathi has been arrested by the police.