Lalu Prasad's sister, Gangotri Devi, was today cremated at her native village Chakrapan in the presence of her kin and hundreds of RJD and Congress supporters, but the RJD chief's two sons were not present there.
Gangotri Devi (73) was Prasad's only sister and her son, Ballister Yadav, lit the pyre.
The RJD chief's two sons--Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and former health minister Tej Pratap Yadav--who carried their aunt's body to a hearse in Patna yesterday were not present during the cremation in Gopalganj district.
Though media reports had speculated that Prasad's lawyers might seek parole so that he could attend his sister's cremation but no such application was moved in Ranchi today.
To a query about seeking parole, Prabhat Kumar, Prasad's lawyer in Ranchi, said it was not under consideration.
"No, it is not under consideration," he told PTI in Ranchi during the day.
Prasad's brother Ramanand Yadav and other family members Lavkush Yadav, Sukhdeo Yadav, Kamal Yadav, Melhu Yadav and supporters of the RJD and the Congress, including Gopalganj district RJD president and former MLA Reyazul Haque Raju were present at the cremation.
Asked about the absence of Prasad's sons, Reyazul Haque Raju said they might be busy preparing papers for filing bail application of Prasad, who was convicted by a special CBI court of Ranchi on Saturday in a fodder scam case.
Efforts to reach out to any of the party's spokesmen and Bihar RJD chief Ramchandra Purbe for more information proved futile.
Gangotri Devi, who was elder to Prasad, had died yesterday, a day after her brother was sentenced to three- and-a-half years of jail term.
Prasad's wife and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi had said, "Among six brothers (of Lalu Prasad), she was the only sister...She definitely received shock after hearing yesterday's (Saturday's) judgement and she died.
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