In strange circumstances, yet ultimately a love story, two lesbian women in Chennai have been cremated together by their families, after killing themselves.

Christy Jayanthi Malar (38) and Rukmani (40), who set themselves on fire after being abused by their families who objected to their "unnatural relationship," got a joint cremation at the Moolakothalam corporation cremation grounds near Basin Bridge.

The heinous way the couple ended their lives left the neighbourhood visibly shocked. The relatives, who had tried to separate the two women, wept constantly as the bodies, side by side, were taken into the electric crematorium.

The bodies were earlier handed over to the families after post-mortem examination at the Stanley government hospital in north Chennai.

A senior police officer said action would not be taken against the relatives. "We can't say the relatives pushed the women into suicide. They might have verbally abused them, but that was to bring them back to normal life."

Sathangadu police have registered a case. 

Tags: lesbians, suicide