Bhubaneswar, Dec 24 

Angry over the marriage of the woman he loved, a man bit off her tongue in Odisha's Ganjam district minutes before her wedding with another man, police said Tuesday.

The incident took place Monday near Bhanjanagar town, about 150 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, when the family members were purchasing some wedding items leaving the 30-year-old bride in a multi-utility vehicle, Police Inspector Ajaya Barik told IANS.

The police officer said 35-year-old Sukanta Swain got into the vehicle and forcibly kissed the bride. He also bit off her tongue and tried to take her away, the police officer said.

However, the passersby came to the woman's rescue and overpowered the man. Police reached the site and arrested him.

The wedding of the woman was performed later in the night after doctors in a brief surgery re-attached the piece of her tongue and provided her necessary treatment at a hospital, he said.

The bride and her attacker belonged to nearby Jilibha village. The man is already married and has two children.

By:IANS