65-year-old woman commits 'sati' by jumping on funeral pyre of husband in Bihar

December 15, 2014

SatiBihar, Dec 15: A 65-year-old woman allegedly committed 'sati' by jumping into the funeral pyre of her husband in a village in Bihar's Saharsa district.

Saharsa Superintendent of Police Pankaj Sinha said it happened at Parminia village under Kahra block in the district, around 250 km from the state capital, and the deceased woman has been identified Dahwa Devi.

"Her husband Charitra Yadav (70) had been suffering from cancer for a long time. He died yesterday. His children and relatives arrived in the afternoon and took his body for cremation near a temple in the village," the SP said.

The last rites got over by evening and the group of people returned and was taking bath near a village borewell. The deceased woman and her daughter-in-law had remained at their home as per the custom.

Meanwhile, Yadav's son Ramesh Mandal started searching for his mother so that she could also take a bath, but she was nowhere to be found. Somebody told the grieving family that Devi was seen going towards the place where Yadav 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 said.

The SP, who had rushed to the village to investigate the incident, said funeral pyres in Saharsa area are traditionally made of timber, sandalwood, cow-dung cakes and other combustible materials. They on an average are around four feet high and burn for a long time. The pyre into which Devi jumped had much fire when the incident happened.

The SP said 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' refers to a funeral ritual in which a recently widowed woman immolates herself on the husband's funeral pyre.

The practice was banned by a law passed by William Bentick, the Governor of Bengal in 1829 in Bengal Presidency, which was later extended in 1830 to Madras and Bombay Presidencies.

Comments

Taylor
 - 
Wednesday, 9 Mar 2016

Hi there, I discovered your website by means of Google whilst searching for a similar subject, your website
came up, it seems good. I've bookmarked it in my
google bookmarks.
Hi there, just was alert to your weblog thru
Google, and found that it is truly informative. I'm going to be careful for brussels.
I will be grateful for those who proceed this in future. Numerous other people can be benefited from your writing.
Cheers!

My website; how to get rid of hives (www.elektrobachem.de: http://www.elektrobachem.de/index.php?mod=users&action=view&id=427472)

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 23,2020

Panaji, Feb 23: A MiG-29K aircraft crashed off Goa during a routine training sortie on Sunday morning, the Indian Navy said in a statement.

"The pilot ejected safely and has been recovered. An enquiry into the incident has been ordered," the statement said.

On November 16, a MiG-29K trainer flight had crashed after a bird hit, soon after it took off the Dabolim International airport, which functions out of the Indian Navy base INS Hansa.

Both pilots had managed to safely eject themselves to safety after both the engines of their jet failed.

According to data tabled in the recent budget session of the Goa Assembly, every ten days, at least one aircraft landing or taking off at Goa's Dabolim international airport faces dangers involving birds or stray dogs near the runway.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 22,2020

Warangal, May 22: In a shocking incident, bodies of nine migrant workers, including six of a family, were found in a well at Gorrekunta area in the outskirts of Warangal city. Of the nine bodies, four were found on May 21.

"Till now, nine bodies have been found in a well near a gunny bag godown at Gorrekunta area in the outskirts of Warangal city. Of the nine bodies, four were found on May 21 and the rest were found today. As six of the bodies belong to one family, it has led to suspicion," said Dr V Ravinder, Commissioner of Police, Warangal, while speaking to ANI over phone.

"The four bodies that were found yesterday have been identified as Md Maksood (50), his wife Nisha (45), daughter Busra (20) and grandson (3). The five bodies that have been found today have been identified as that of Shabad Alam, son of Maksood, Sohail Alam (Maksood's family member), Shakeel, a family friend of Maksood," he further said.

The bodies have been taken out from the well and sent to MGM Hospital for post mortem.
Minister Errabelli Dayakar, District Collector Harita, Mayor Prakash Rao have visited the spot along with the Warangal Commissioner.

Md Maksood had migrated from West Bengal to Warangal 20 years ago. Since last December, he and his family members have been working in a nearby gunny bag manufacturing unit godown at Gorrekunta. After the lockdown, the family shifted from Warangal and settled down in the factory godown.

According to police, on Thursday noon when the unit owner Santosh came to the godown as part of his daily routine he could not find any of the labourers. Later, he discovered four dead bodies floating in the well.

The Warangal police has registered a case under Section 174 CrPC. They said the exact reason for their deaths will be known only after the investigation.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 5,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 5: One man has been arrested in connection with the death of a pregnant elephant in Palakkad district here, Kerala Forest Minister K Raju said on Friday.

"One accused identified as Wilson has been arrested in connection with the case. More people are involved. The process to arrest all the accused is underway. Strict action will be taken in the matter to ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future," Raju told reporters here.

The elephant had died in Palakkad district on May 27 after it ate a pineapple stuffed with crackers and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

Raju said that the forest department has appointed three teams to probe the matter, and added that police are also investigating the incident as explosives were used.

"There may be some type of crackers inside the fruit. In such cases, blast occurs and the animal can not even drink water. The primary post mortem reports said that this case is like that. Let it be investigated," he said.

"Man and animal conflict is natural in our state as people residing close to the forests. The government gives compensation for farmers, Rs 10 lakhs compensation if a person dies in an animal attack," the Minister added.

The death of the pregnant elephant has sparked a controversy, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan terming the unfortunate death as "a painful thing" and Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar saying that the Centre has taken a "serious note" of the incident.

According to the preliminary post-mortem report, the immediate cause of the death of the female elephant was drowning followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure.

The elephant was seen standing in the river with its mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the explosive-filled fruit exploded in its mouth.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.