A 40-year-old married woman and a 23-year-old unmarried man, who were having an alleged affair, committed suicide by setting themselves ablaze after their respective families opposed their relationship.

Bharathi, who was married with two daughters, and Saravanan resided in Vellore’s Saidapet during the initial stages of their relationship. After their families got to know of their affair, they condemned the couple and demanded them to end the courtship at once. The couple, however, refused to separate and eloped to Erode where they lived in peace for a brief period before the families located them. When they decided to get Saravanan married to a woman, the duo locked themselves in their apartment where they set themselves on fire.

The investigating officials have reported that the bodies of the deceased couple have been retrieved from the apartment and sent to the government hospital for post-mortem.