A growing cult of Hindu worshippers in India believe that drinking fresh cow urine will help prevent cancer.

Hindus believe the cow to be a sacred animal and claim that the urine has divine healing properties.

Jairam Singhal is a firm believer in its health benefits and has been drinking it for over a decade.

“I had diabetes, but ever since I have started drinking cow urine, my diabetes levels have been under control,” said the 42-year-old.

“Someone told me drinking cow urine is good for health.

“We have had cows here for over 12 years now, so first thing in the morning we take cow urine and drink it.”

In the north Indian city of Agra, dozens gather at the cow shelter of DD Singhal to have a fresh glass of cow urine.

“Lots of people come here. And of late, the numbers have been rising. We all gather in the morning and drink fresh urine that Mother cow offers us,” Singhal said.

“Just a few years ago, there would hardly be anyone interested in taking cow urine from our shelter.

“But today lots of people come to our cow shelter. There are cancer patients sometimes – they want to see the benefits of cow urine.”

Many say the recent increase in the number of people drinking cow urine can be attributed to campaigns run by spiritual leaders.

Followers of the cult claim cow urine can successful be used to cancer, diabetes, tumours, tuberculosis, stomach problems and much more. They also claim that drinking cow pee is the only solution for treating baldness.

“Only two things are pure in this universe, in this world. One is the water from the Holy Ganges river and the other is urine from mother holy cow,” Ramesh Gupta, a Hindu priest, said.

“Cow urine has been mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures. No one can doubt the good effects it has on the human body. It is a divine gift from God.”

Followers like Gupta, however, insist that urine from every cow cannot be beneficial.

“The cow, whose urine one has to drink, should be a virgin – she must not have delivered a calf. Also, the urine is to be collected just before sunrise – that urine has the best effect,” he said.

Ukraine’s ex-interior minister turned opposition leader has been injured in a scuffle between police and anti-government activists in the nation’s capital.

Yuri Lutsenko, a top organizer of the mass protests that have gripped Kiev for weeks, was injured in the early hours of Saturday when he tried to intervene in a confrontation between riot police and opposition activists. The clashes erupted outside a Kiev court had set long prison terms for three ultra-nationalist activists convicted of planning to blow up a statue in 2011.

Ukraine’s top human rights official said 11 people were hospitalized after the clashes.

Oscar-nominated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou has been fined 7.48 million yuan ($1.2 million) for breaching China’s one-child policy, authorities say.

A letter sent to Zhang by the family planning bureau of Binhu District of Wuxi City, Jiangsu province in eastern China on Thursday demanded that he pay a penalty for having two “beyond-the-quota” children.

The fine comes after Zhang apologized in an open letter for his “excessive children” in December. He and his wife, Chen Ting, admitted to having two sons and a daughter.

Local officials in Jiangsu province calculated the fine based on the couple’s combined annual income, the document stated. Nine investigation teams had been sent to “collect evidence” since November.

The couple have to pay the fine within 30 days of receiving the letter, local authorities added.

However, Zhang, best known for movies such as “Red Sorghum,” “Raise the Red Lantern,” and “Hero,” is unlikely to benefit from the change.

The filmmaker also directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.