An Indian priest has been arrested for beheading a man in his shrine to offer as a sacrifice to end the Coronavirus pandemic in India, Gulf News reports.

70-year-old Sansari Ojha from the Brahmani Dei Temple cut off 52-year-old Saroj Kumar Pradhan’s head , told police that he killed him after he was ordered by a goddess in his dream to sacrifice a human in order to bring an end to the pandemic in India. 

Police said he beheaded Pradhan with an axe on Wednesday night in the temple’s shrine after an argument ensued between them. 

Detective Ashish Kumar Singh said Ojha was heavily drunk at the time and surrendered to police the following day after realizing what he had done. 

According to him, Ojha claimed he was ordered by a goddess in his dream to sacrifice a human in order to bring an end to the pandemic.

Alok Ranjan Ray, Athagarh sub-divisional police officer, said: ‘The priest claimed that he saw a goddess in his dream and was asked to sacrifice a human’s life to bring an end to coronavirus. 

‘Hence, to appease the goddess, he decapitated the man,’ he told Gulf News.

Police say after an investigation, they discovered that both men were known to be smoking marijuana before the attack.

Mr. Pradhan’s body has been sent for an autopsy while the murder weapon has been seized from the shrine by Police.