A husband and wife have killed themselves by decapitation with a home-made guillotine so they could offer their heads as a sacrifice in India, according to police. 

Hemubhai Makwana, 38, and his wife Hansaben, 35, ‘severed’ their heads with a ‘guillotine-like mechanism’ into a ‘fire altar’ for a ritual sacrifice in Vinchhiya, Gujarat, India, yesterday.

Vinchhiya Police sub-inspector Indrajeetsinh Jadeja said the ‘ritual’ was carried out between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and the couple left a note for their two children, parents and relatives who live nearby.

Mr Jadeja said the note urged their relatives to take care of their children and parents.

The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination, and a case of accidental death has been registered.

Hemubhai Makwana (left), 38, and his wife Hansaben (right), 35, ‘severed’ their heads with a ‘guillotine-like mechanism’ into a ‘fire altar’ for a ritual sacrifice in Vinchhiya, Gujarat, India, yesterday

Vinchhiya Police sub-inspector Indrajeetsinh Jadeja said the ‘ritual’ was carried out between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and the couple left a note for their two children, parents and relatives who live nearby

The couple’s family members said the pair had been offering prayers in their home every day since last year.

It comes after two women were abducted, tortured and beheaded as part of what was feared to be a black magic human sacrifice ritual last October.

Bhagaval Singh, a traditional healer who treated patients in his home, his wife Laila, and Mohammed Shafi, an ‘occult practitioner’, were detained in Kerala, India, after the bodies of Padmam, 57, and Rosili, 49, were discovered.

The pair had been ‘severely tortured’ and the accused allegedly lured them to their home by promising money. 

 The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination, and a case of accidental death has been registered. Pictured: Vinchhiya, India 

Bhagaval Singh, a traditional healer who treated patients in his home, was accused of sacrificing two women in India with his wife Laila (right)

Shafi was said to have befriended the couple through social media after creating a fake profile, then encouraged them to carry out the sacrifice. 

Black magic is still practised in parts of India supposedly to aid fertility, bring wealth, affect the weather and cure people of illnesses.

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