Sending a chilling reminder that the evil of Sati is far from over, a 75-year-old woman burnt herself on her husband’s funeral pyre in Bahundari village near Jaspur in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh.The incident occurred on May 7 after Ram Kumari jumped into the pyre of her husband Jageshwar Tiwari, a retired government employee. The police, fearing that local residents may glorify the act, had instructed the family to keep mum. But word spread after the 13th day rituals and since then people have been showing up in large numbers to pray at the pyre site where even a makeshift chabootra has come up. The family has fled the village and police are now being deployed to prevent the crowds from reaching the site. Among the ‘‘devotees’’ who made it to the site was twice UP minister Jagdish Chand Bose, a close associate of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. Bose circled the pyre, even scooped the ash lying there and rubbed it on his forehead as a mark of respect. Other showed up with incense sticks and diyas to perform pooja. The incident has the district administration in a tizzy—it’s the seventh in Banda since 1952. Banda district magistrate Dheeraj Sahu told The Indian Express: ‘‘She did a Sati. We have not lodged report against anyone. Under the Sati Act, a report can only be lodged on three counts: against someone who is an abettor, against one who attempts this act or against those who glorify the incident. We have inquired into this incident and decided not to lodge an FIR against anyone.’’ Jageshwar Tiwari, who had been ailing, died on May 7 and was cremated the same afternoon. His wife Ram Kumari slipped out of the house in the night. By the time her three sons reached the site, it was over—her remains were found.
