A 65-year-old Indian woman has allegedly committed ‘sati’ by diving into the funeral pyre of her husband in Bihar, Saharsa district
A Superintendent of Police in Sahasar, Pankaj Sinha stated on Monday, December 15, 2014 that the ‘sati’ is a suicidal ritual that has been banned by law and the woman would have served a jail term had she not died in her attempt.
“Her husband Charitra Yadav, 70, had been suffering from cancer for a long time. He died on Saturday, December 13, 2014. His children and relatives arrived in the afternoon and took his body for cremation near a temple in the village,” the SP said.
According to Sinha, everyone has left the place where Charita Yadav was cremated as family members who carried out the burial rites were taking a bath near the village bore well.
Yadav’s son, Ramesh Mandal noticed that his mother was not anywhere around the house to take her bath, so he inquire on her whereabouts. That was when they noticed Devi has gone to the place where her husband was cremated.
“Mandal and other family members ran towards the place and saw that Devi had already jumped into the funeral pyre and died. They then performed her last rites too in the same pyre,” Sinha added.
The SP also said that the entire incident happened within a span of 30 minutes after Yadav’s cremation got over and the family members returned to take bath.
“We have probed the incident and also video recorded the statements of the villagers. They all have corroborated the incident. Devi was grieving, but otherwise, was mentally sound. We have taken it as suicide and not filed a case in the matter,” the SP said.
‘Sati’ in India is a funeral ritual in which a widowed woman plunges herself on the husband’s funeral pyre, the woods which is burning the deceased body at the time and get herself also burn to death.
This practice has been banned in India by a law since 1829 Bengal, and was later extended to Madras and Bombay in 1830.
