Bhawanipatna: An elderly man died after jumping into the funeral pyre of his wife Tuesday evening at Sialjodi village under Golamunda block in Kalahandi district.
According to a source, the deceased woman has been identified as 60-year-old Raibari Sabar. She was the wife of Nilamani from Sialjodi village. The woman had died of cardiac arrest in the afternoon.
Raibari’s body was carried to the village cemetery for cremation. She was consigned to flames after her last rites were performed. Nilamani, his four sons and some villagers waited there for a while.
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The elderly man became deeply shocked after losing his wife.
Escaping the eyes of his sons, Nilamani rushed near the funeral pyre and jumped into it. The four sons and other pall-bearers present at the cemetery could not save him as the inferno was intense.
Nilamani sustained critical burn injuries and died on the spot, locals said.
PNN