Woman sarpanch kills self over complaint against husband

Balaghat: A woman sarpanch allegedly committed suicide with police investigations revealing she was disturbed over allegations her husband swindled Rs 1.21 lakh from a government welfare scheme, an official said on Saturday.

Padriganj village panchayat sarpanch (village head) Bhakti Thakur poured kerosene and set herself afire at her home at around midnight last night, Chhangotola police station sub-inspector Phool Singh said.

The 32-year-old was rushed to a primary health centre where she succumbed at around 1.30 am today, he added.

Padriganj is located some 60km from here.

Singh said investigations revealed Bhakti was worried that her husband Mahendra Thakur would be arrested following a complaint made against him to senior revenue officials yesterday.

According to the complaint, Mahendra withdrew a sum of Rs 1.21 lakh from the bank accounts of three beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Prime Minister Housing Scheme) without their knowledge.

"She took the extreme step due to this. A case has been registered and further investigations are on," Singh said.