11 held after fire test of wife's fidelity

INDIAN police have arrested 11 people who asked a woman to hold a red hot iron in her hands in a test of her marital fidelity.

After a row with her husband of one month, Sangeeta Sauda, 20, was asked to prove she was as pure as the Hindu goddess Sita by holding a red hot iron and remaining unhurt in front of 300 elders of her Khanjar tribal community.

With her hands smeared with turmeric and wrapped in fig leaves, Sauda held the iron for a few seconds before throwing it away in a televised ceremony at Indore, 450 miles south of New Delhi.

She laughingly unwrapped her unscathed hands and the community leaders proclaimed she was pure.

Police say they arrested Rajesh, his parents and heads of the Khanjar community for trying to cause hurt.

“The police arresting my husband and in-laws are only going to ruin my marriage,” Sauda said. “I have willingly gone through the ordeal. No one forced me into anything.”

Sauda said she submitted to the test after leaving on a pilgrimage without informing her husband.

When she returned to her husband’s home, her in-laws kicked her out. She returned to her parents, who approached community elders to help save the marriage.

They decided on the “fire ordeal”. After she passed the test, the community feasted through the night.