A man has been arrested in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly chopping off the head of a 60-year-old man as a human sacrifice to please a deity and apparently hasten the marriage of his and his siblings.

The incident took place on Thursday and the accused was arrested, hours later. Villagers said that Shukla and his five brothers were unmarried and, last week, a priest had visited them. "The priest had told them if they beheaded an old man in his sleep, their marriages would be solemnised soon. It was to be done to please a deity," one of the villagers told the media.