Woman slices girl's tongue to attain wealth

A woman in Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh allegedly sliced off the tongue of her neighbour's four-month-old daughter Wednesday after a godman told her it would make her rich.

Manju Devi, 35, a resident of the Siswan village, committed the act on the directions of a self-professed godman who was visiting her house regularly for the past few weeks, police said.

Locals found the four-month-old girl Mansi inside Devi's house, lying near a 'havan kund' (ceremonial fireplace).

Devi and her family members are absconding.

"The girl was bleeding profusely at the time she was recovered from Manju Devi's house. She has been hospitalised and her condition is stated to be critical," police inspector H.C. Bharti told reporters Thursday in Maharajganj, some 300 km from Lucknow.