TENKASI: A 60-year-old farmer was hacked to death by a gang, allegedly over previous enmity, near Alangulam on Saturday. The Uthumalai police on Sunday arrested three persons. Police identified the deceased as L Joseph Raj, a resident of Uthumalai.
According to sources, Joseph had two daughters. One of them is married and the other is studying in a college in Surandai. He owned a farm along the Uthumalai-Rettiyarpatti road and was rearing more than 10 heads of cattle. On Saturday evening, when Joseph was working in his field, a gang allegedly surrounded him and hacked him to death.
Preliminary inquiries revealed that A Madan of the same locality used to visit Joseph’s farm to milk the cattle. He had allegedly expressed his love to Joseph’s younger daughter and wanted to marry her. However, Joseph had refused, and Madan later died by suicide last year. Following Madan’s death, his family members had allegedly gotten into a heated argument with Joseph.
On Saturday, Mahesh (24), the elder brother of Madan, along with a few associates, allegedly attacked Joseph and killed him, sources added. Police is on the lookout of Mahesh and has arrested three of his accomplices.