Two brothers were hacked to death and their sister was injured when a group of men attacked them over building a church in a ‘disputed’ land at Kannirajapuram in Mudukulathur taluk on Friday.
Police said a group of people from the local unit of the Church of South India (CSI), armed with documents, visited the site to begin the construction work in the 40-cent land when the deceased, also Christians and relatives of the aggressors, objected to it, saying they had a stake in the land.
They objected on the ground that their appeal filed after the Mudukulathur court dismissed their civil suit was pending before Paramakudi Magistrate Court, and nobody should commence the construction work.
Soon a wordy duel broke out and the group hacked P. Vedamani (62) and his brother P. Asirvatham (58), killing them on the spot, the police said.
Kannimariyal, sister of the deceased who went to the rescue of her brothers, was also attacked, but she escaped with injuries, the police said, adding she was admitted to the local government hospital.
The police secured some of those involved in the attack and were interrogating them. They were also on the lookout for about 10 others, the police added.
Superintendent of Police N.M. Mylvahanan, who visited the spot, said that the police were probing who acted in an aggressive manner, leading to the double murder. The investigation had been handed over to the local Deputy Superintendent of Police, he added.
The church side possessed proper records and the foundation for building a church was laid on October 26 last year, he added.
