Man held for death of couple in Tiruvannamalai

A 45-year-old man was arrested for the death of a couple whose burnt bodies were found in their hut in Pakkiripalayam village near Tiruvannamalai’s Chengam town a few days ago.

The arrested person has been identified as bricklayer V. Sivakumar, police said. The dead couple are T. Sakthivel, 55, a farmer, and his wife S. Amirtham, 40. They all belong to Pakkiripalayam village.

Initial investigation revealed that the deceased Amirtham was previously married to the suspect Sivakumar. They had three children before they developed differences and separated several years ago.

Police said Sakthivel was a former ward councilor of Pakkiripalayam village panchayat and was also part of the DMK cadre. He married 50-year-old Tamilisai and had three sons. After a misunderstanding, the couple were living separately; Tamilisai had been living in Bengaluru with her children for the last five years.

Later, Sakthivel and Amirtham became friends with each other and after separation from Sivakumar, Amirtham married Sakthivel. The couple lived together in the cottage.

Police said the investigation found that Sivakumar was upset because his wife married someone else from the same village. Sivakumar set the hut on fire after locking its door from outside while the couple was sleeping inside. The incident occurred at midnight on January 3.

Following an alert from local residents, Chengam police investigated the scene and sent the bodies to the Government Medical College Hospital in Tiruvannamalai town for autopsy. A case was registered. The arrested person was sent to the Central Jail in Vellore. An investigation is ongoing.