A 70-year-old woman committed sati by jumping into her husband’s funeral pyre in Chechar village of Kasdol development block about 120 km from the Chhattisgarh capital.
Shivanand Verma, 75, had died on Saturday after a prolonged illness. His family members told police officers who rushed to the village that Lalmati Verma was a devout woman but they had not expected her to take such an extreme step.
The Vermas are survived by three sons and a daughter.
Family members told the police that they found Lalmati was missing after returning from Shivanand’s cremation. They then began looking for her and were told by some villagers that they had seen her proceeding towards the cremation site.
Family members said they went to the crematorium, but it was too late. Lalmati had almost immolated herself in her husband’s pyre and died soon after.
This is the first case of sati in Chhattisgarh and has created a sensation in entire Chechar village.
Extra police forces have been deployed in the area to prevent any glorification of the banned practice, additional superintendent of police Prashant Thakur told the Hindustan Times.