Amidst the chanting of Vedic mantras, the mortal remains of Manju Sinha, the wife of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, were on Tuesday consigned to flames on the banks of the Ganga at Pahelwan Ghat.
Her lone engineer son, Nishant, lit the funeral pyre. Manju Sinha died in a private hospital in New Delhi on Monday after a prolonged illness.
A host of dignitaries, including Governor R S Gavai, Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav, several state ministers and top state officials placed wreaths on her body on the banks of the Ganga where thousands of people assembled to pay their respects.
The funeral procession started from the 1, Anne Marg bungalow of Nitish Kumar and her body was carried in a flower-covered vehicle. The body was first taken to Kamala Nehru Girls High School where she was a teacher. Teachers and students gave her a tearful farewell.
Earlier, Manju Sinha's body was brought to Patna on Tuesday morning by a service flight from New Delhi, where she had died of pneumonia and lung failure.
Manju Sinha (55), who had been suffering from acute pneumonia, breathed her last at around 7.30 pm at the Max Hospital where she was undergoing treatment since May 1.