A 36-year–old mason was fatally stabbed allegedly by a man and his three sons at Navalpat on the outskirts of the city on Monday.
The victim, T. Lakshmanan, a resident of Burma Colony area, succumbed to the injuries at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in the late hours. His elder brother, Shanmugam, who was also injured in the attack, was undergoing treatment, police said.
G. Gopalakrishnan, 55, and his three sons, G. Damodaran, 19, G. Dinesh Kumar, 20, and G. Sathyanarayanan,18, were arrested for the murder. They were neighbours of the victim.
Shanmugam allegedly demanded liquor from Damodaran on seeing the latter returning home after buying a bottle. A quarrel broke out after Damodaran reportedly refused and abused him before leaving the place.
Shanmugam and Lakshmanan assaulted Damodaran with sticks in front of his house. Damodaran’s father and brothers intervened, leading to a fisticuff between the two parties. In the melee, Damodaran, reportedly assisted by his father and brothers, allegedly stabbed Lakshmanan and Shanmugam. Lakshmanan succumbed to injuries in hospital.
Navalpat police are investigating.