TIRUVANNAMALAI: A 53-year-old man and his live-in partner were charred to death after unidentified people locked their hut from outside and set it on fire in a village near Chengam in Tiruvannamalai district on Friday morning.

The deceased were identified as P Sakthivel, a farmer, and his live-in partner, S Amirtham, 40, of Pakkiripalayam village near Chengam.Chengam inspector M Selvaraj said police received information that a hut was completely gutted at Pakkiripalayam. A team reached the spot and found two bodies charred beyond recognition. A forensic team reached the spot and combed the scene for clues. A sniffer dog was pressed into service.

Postmortem examinations were done on the spot.Selvaraj said initial inquiries revealed that Sakthivel had separated from his wife S Tamilarasi, three years ago. The couple have two sons and a daughter. His wife is now living in Bengaluru with their children. Selvaraj began a relationship with Amirtham three years ago. Amirtham was also separated from her husband, and they have two sons and a daughter.Selvaraj’s daughter visited him on Thursday night and left after dinner around 9pm.

Selvaraj’s neighbours woke up to the pungent smell of charred objects, and found that his hut was gutted. They alerted the Chengam police.“We have registered a case of suspicious deaths of two people. The couple, both separated from their spouses, have been living together for the past three years. We are investigating from all angles, including the possible involvement of the spouses of the two. Sakthivel was living with his partner in a 10x10ft hut erected on a three-acre farm, which he had leased from a villager,” said the inspector.