65-year old woman commits sati in Bihar

SAMASTIPUR: A 65-year-old woman allegedly committed ''sati'' by jumping into the funeral pyre of her husband at village in Bihar''s Samastipur district on Wednesday night, her son and villagers said on Thursday.
Superintendent of Police Meghnath Ram, however, denied Rukia Devi had committed ''sati'', saying the woman died of heart failure due to shock over her 70-year-old husband Raghu Yadav''s death at Sakardiha village under Hasanpur police station.
Rukia Devi''s son Jagdish Yadav and villagers said that unable to bear the loss of her husband, she quietly went to the cremation ground and jumped into the funeral pyre and was charred to death on the spot.
Some villagers claimed Rukia Devi had rubbed kerosene oil in her body before going to the cremation ground. When the family members did not find her at home, they rushed to the cremation ground and found the woman dead.
Raghu Yadav, who had been ill for sometime, died at his house in the village, about 110 km from the district headquarters, on Thursday evening.
The SP said that he had asked the officer-in-charge of Hasanpur police station to inquire into the incident.