Because of the stupid suggestion of an Indian village priest, a man ended up cutting the fetus out of his pregnant wife so he could make sure that it was a boy.

Panna Lal, 43, attacked Anita Devi, his wife, in Badaun City, Uttar Pradesh, a state in India, because a priest in the village told her to do so.

The couple already had 5 daughters, they wanted a boy this time, said the police.

Lal reportedly charged at his wife with a sickle after being convinced by the religious figure that his wife was pregnant with another girl.

He wanted to abort the child if it was indeed a girl.

Lal was arrested by the police and is facing attempted murder charges.

The mother is currently in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in New Delhi, the capital of India.

Doctors fought to save her life and that of her unborn baby, the fetus was stillborn by the evening of Sunday.

Investigations also revealed that Lal used to beat his wife in a very brutal way because she gave birth to 5 daughters.

The brother of the victim said that their sister called them on a number of occasions because she was being beaten up pretty badly.

The family of Devi said that they had no idea their son-in-law would take such a cruel step.

The current situation of Devi is currently unknown.

Daughters And An Attempt To Kill Them In India

Abortions of female fetuses have been banned in India. This is because people in the country believe that boys are far more superior than women and boys are the sole members of the family that would carry on the name.

Having daughters are often seen as a burden in India because families have to pay dowries when they marry their sons, who are the main breadwinners.

The Population Research Institute said that around 15.8 million girls went missing in India due to prenatal sex selection. This is part of an attempt to control the sex of the babies and focus more on having a male.