CHENNAI: A 65-year-old man, a retired engineer from the Chennai Port Trust, was hacked to death in front of his family.

A masked man barged into his house near Avadi, and grievously injured three of his family members, including his daughter, on Saturday.

Tirumullaivoyal police registered a case of murder and said they were yet to arrest anyone in connection with the murder and assault, and that the motive was yet to be established.

The deceased was identified as Madhavan. He lived with his wife, Shyamala (60), mother-in-law and second daughter, Deekshita (19) at Tirukural Main Road. His elder daughter, Monica (19), was studying in a private medical college and lives in a hostel, police said.

On Saturday night, a masked man barged into the house wielding a weapon and started attacking the occupants. Police said that he found Madhavan and rained blows on him and attacked the family members when they tried to intervene. Leaving Madhavan in a pool of blood, the attacker fled the scene.

Family members alerted the neighbours who rushed them to a hospital, where Madhavan was declared ‘brought dead’. On information, Tirumullaivoyal police rushed to the hospital to get statements from the injured family members.

“Investigation is still underway. We have not established a clear motive for the attack yet. No properties were stolen. So, we suspect the attack to be for personal reasons,” explained a police officer.