The sisters lost their father in 2005 in an accident and were living with their mother and grandparents.

Soon after the death of their father, Bahadur had developed strained relations with his two younger brothers - Jangbahadur and Phulena. Later, both of them, who reside in a nearby village, stopped visiting their brother's place and did not even come after his death.

Local residents said when the senior villagers learnt about the decision taken by the three sisters, they insisted that they plead with Bahadur's brothers to perform the last rites.

However, the sisters refused and, after taking consent of their mother and grandmother, the three performed their last rites of their grandfather.

In India, men traditionally carry the dead in a funeral procession for cremation or to the burial ground and perform the last rites. In a practice, now widely seen as discriminatory, Hindu women are forbidden to perform the last rites.