A crazed father axed his eight-month-old infant to death as a sacrifice to the Indian goddess of destruction and rebirth.

Rajkumar Chaurasia told police he had killed his son because he had been ‘ordered to do so by the goddess Kali’.

Chaurasia reportedly gave his son a bath and took him for a prayer at a temple dedicated to Kali, also known as Durga.

A crazed father axed his eight-month-old infant to death as a sacrifice to Kali the Indian goddess of destruction and rebirth

He then took the child home and axed him to death infront of an idol of the goddess placed in a temple he had built in the house in Narain Purva village in Barabanki district of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Chaurasia’s wife is understood to have seen him striking her son with the axe twice on his neck.

Chaurasia, known locally as Hemant, then attempted to flee but he was apprehended by other members of the village who handed him over to the police.

A police spokesman told the Deccan Herald: ‘Hemant had planned to kill the infant soon after his birth.

‘He thought that the sacrifice will bring happiness in the lives of the childless couples, who visited the Goddess Kali temple.’

Chaurasia was charged with his son’s murder and sent for a medical examination to assess his mental state.

Police said he did not show any regrets over his act.

Although rare, human sacrifices continue to be made in some tribal parts of India where people continue to consult traditional healers, or witch doctors.

Kali, also known as Durga, is the Indian goddess of death and destruction. She is associated with time and change and is sometimes revered as an annihilator of evil forces.

Read more: Daily Mail