A 31-year-old police constable was admitted at the Kilpauk Medical College hospital with over 80% burns after his girlfriend set him on fire. The woman had taken the extreme step after finding out that he had cheated on her with his colleague.

Sources identified the victim as constable Venkatesh (31), a native of Villupuram. He was attached to the TN Special Police wing in Avadi. According to sources, Venkatesh was married to a one Jaya, of Villupuram, and had two children. He cheated on his wife with a woman named Asha, following which they separated. While their son stays with Jaya, the daughter stays with Venkatesh at the police quarters in Sathyamoorthy Nagar.

Asha, who was also reportedly married with two children of her own left her family and moved in with Venkatesh. According to Asha's statement, the woman noticed that Venkatesh was spending a lot of time over the phone recently. Growing suspicious, she enquired with some of his colleagues and found out that Venkatesh was having an affair with a woman constable. This led to frequent quarrels between the two.

On Sunday night, Venkatesh reportedly came home at 1 a.m. in an inebriated state. Asha allegedly doused him with kerosene following an argument. Eyewitnesses said that Venkatesh tried to flee and ran into the street. But Asha chased him down and set him afire outside the house. Neighbours immediately doused him with water and took him to the hospital, where his condition was said to be stable. Asha, who was arrested on charges of attempt to murder, was taken into judicial custody.