In India, a couple beheads themselves during a sacrificial ritual

A couple is said to have decapitated themselves with a homemade guillotine.

Hemubhai Makwana, 38, and his wife Hansaben, 35, ‘cut off’ their heads as part of a sacrificial ritual in India.

Local media said the device was set up so that their heads would roll against an altar at their farm in Vinchhiya, Gujarat.

Their bodies were found on Sunday morning by their 13-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter, according to the Times of India.

Authorities said the couple left a suicide note for their children, parents and relatives before committing suicide.

Sub-Inspector Indrajeetsinh Jadeja of Vinchhiya Police Station confirmed that Mr. and Mrs. Makwana used a “guillotine-like mechanism”.

He said: “We are taking statements from relatives and are trying to find out the reason for the couple’s extreme move.”

Mr. Jadeja added that the day before the incident, the parents sent their two children to their uncle’s house.

Police also said the couple built a makeshift temple last year containing an image of Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism.

The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Makwana were autopsied.