A town panchayat councillor and his father were hacked to death in Puliankadu village near Rasipuram Saturday midnight.
P. Sivakumar (35), councillor (independent) of ward No. 8 of Pudupatti town panchayat, and his family members were sleeping in their farm house. A group of miscreants allegedly attacked Periannan (60), father of Sivakumar, sleeping outside the house. On hearing his screams, Sivakumar and his mother Marayi rushed out of the house, but the miscreants attacked them too. Periannan was killed on the spot. The neighbours rushed Sivakumar and his mother to the government hospital, Rasipuram, where he was pronounced dead, police sources said.
Marayi was admitted to the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital in Salem city.
K. Maheswaran, SP, and Raju, DSP, Rasipuram, visited the spot. Police sources said there was a dispute between Periannan and Marappan, the owner of a farm nearby and this is suspected to be the reason for the murder of father and son. Police arrested Marappan and his son Sivakumar on Sunday and they were remanded in judicial custody.