World | India
Indian woman kills herself in husband's funeral pyre
An elderly woman in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh killed herself by jumping into her husband's funeral pyre, police said on Sunday.
- Agencies
- Published: 13:00 October 12, 2008
Raipur: An elderly woman in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh killed herself by jumping into her husband's funeral pyre, police said on Sunday.
The woman, Lalmati Verma, 71, flung herself into the fire on Saturday after mourners had left the cremation site, said police officer B.R. Mandawi in Kasdol, 125 km from Raipur.
"She was reduced to ashes soon," Mandawi said, adding her three sons had not been aware of their mother's intention to commit "sati", which means "faithful wife". Investigations were being conducted, he said.
The action, which demonstrates devotion, was abolished by British colonial rulers in 1829.
Dozens of people gathered at the site on the bank of river Shivnath in Chechar on Sunday to pay their respects.
Laws against sati were tightened in 1987 after a young woman jumped into her husband's pyre, watched by thousands of people.
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