CHENNAI: A businessman was charred to death after a fire broke out in his house near Puzhal during the wee hours of Thursday. The man was identified as Muthu Subramani. He was living alone after his wife died and his son, Mithra, was studying abroad. “Mithra returned to the city for holidays a few days ago and on Wednesday had gone to meet friends and returned home at around 3 am. To his horror, he found smoke in the house and alerted fire services,” said an officer. Fire personnel from Madhavaram and Red Hills rushed to the spot and doused the fire and found Muthu Subramani’s charred body. Police suspect Muthu tried turned on the gas stove, but failed to notice a leak.