Woman commits 'sati' in UP village

Fatehpur, UP, May 19 (UNI) In a shocking incident, a woman allegedly committed 'sati' by jumping on to the funeral pyre of her husband in Rari village of this district.

Police, however, have termed the incident a ''simple suicide'', while an FIR has been lodged against the family members of the woman -- Vidyawati (40) -- and 200 villagers.

Additional forces have been deployed at the village to prevent people from reaching the spot where the incident occurred on Wednesday.

Additional superintendent of police (ASP) Uday Singh told UNI here that though FIRs have been lodged against many, no arrests have been made so far.

A case has been registered against three brothers-in-law of the woman, her son and her alleged lover. ''We are investigating the matter and those involved would not be spared,'' the ASP said.

Vidyawati had jumped on to the pyre of her husband Lalchand Lal Lodh whose strangled body was found on May 15 at a railway crossing.

The couple reportedly shared an estranged relationship and had seperated five years back. Vidya stayed at Fatehpur town with her three children -- Neeraj(20), Arti(17) and Puja (15) -- and she was allegedly having an affair with a man named Rohit.

Reports said Lalchand was on his way to meet Vidya on the day he died. The villagers allege she was behind the killing as she was the one who directed people to the spot where he had died, but said they did not force Vidya to take the extreme step.

UNI XC-MB NAB LR DS1415