A temple ritual, performed as part of Mahashivarathri celebrations in Poochiyur district of Tamil Nadu, with the priest wearing nail-fixed footwear walking over recumbent women, has triggered widespread protests.

A particular community in the region believes that the practice can cure infertility and diseases.

Though the district administration has referred the issue to the police, it is not in a position to take any action since there is no complaint against this practice, official sources said.

The issue has come to the notice of the state government, which has ordered an inquiry, the official sources said.

Villagers said only the wooden part of the sandal touches the women. The priest balances on the nails without causing any harm to the person he walks over.

However, the medical fraternity is of the view that walking over recumbent women puts pressure on their spinal chord, resulting in paralysis.

Some non-governmental organisations are contemplating legal action to stop this 'uncivilised practice'.

The district administration had successfully put an end to another ritual wherein some youth of a particular community used to ransack burial grounds and bite bones taken from the graves on Shivarathri to gain special powers.

Last year the state had banned a practice at a temple in Peraiyur, near Madurai, where children were buried alive for a few minutes.