India, Aug. 12 -- Residents of a tribal settlement in Maharashtra's Thane district alleged that they were forced to perform the last rites of a local woman on an open ground amid heavy downpours by using plastic sheets to protect the funeral pyre from rain on Tuesday.

The deceased, Jayabai Mahadu Wagh, a resident of Umbharai village in Shahapur taluka and a sitting member of the local gram panchayat committee, passed away following a brief illness.

As heavy rains lashed the region on Tuesday, grieving family members and relatives were forced to carry out the final rites under severe hardship, holding plastic sheets over the pyre to keep the flames alight, her family members said.

Local residents expressed deep resentment, stating that ...