Two persons were hacked to death by an 11-member gang when they went to water crops at Kuttiyadu near Thiruvadhigai in Panruti late on Tuesday. The deceased were identified as M. Balaji, 23, and R. Manikandan, 26, of Thiruvadhigai.
Though the victims and the assailants belonged to two different factions of the AIADMK, police said that previous enmity over holding a temple festival in Thiruvadhigai was the reason behind the murder.
According to police, trouble was brewing between the two groups over the last seven years over the festival. An altercation broke out between the two groups on March 15 and the police registered a case against members belonging to both groups.
Late on Tuesday, Balaji, Manikandan, S. Appanu and M. Deva Nathan, 26, went to water the crops of Vijayan of Kuttiyadu when a gang led by Karuna alias Karunakaran attacked them with machetes and sharp weapons.
While Appanu and Devanathan managed to flee, the group surrounded Balaji and Manikandan and attacked them. While Balaji died on the spot, Manikandan succumbed at the Panruti GH.
