TIRUCHY: A man was murdered while his brother sustained severe injuries after a verbal quarrel snowballed into an attack in Tiruchy late on Monday. The police arrested three persons, including two gangsters, in connection with the case on Tuesday.

The incident occurred when M Alageswaran (37) and his brother, Uma Sankar (33), both residents of Varaganeri, were walking along a road near Periyar Nagar.

Three people reportedly blocked their way, which triggered an altercation between the brothers and the trio. The verbal quarrel suddenly snowballed into an assault, and one of the three persons attacked both Alageswaran and Uma Sankar with a machete. Under the impact, Uma Sankar died on the spot, while Alageswaran sustained severe injuries. The trio immediately escaped from the spot.

On seeing this, the public rushed Alageswaran to a private hospital while the body of Uma Sankar was rushed to the Tiruchy GH after the Gandhi market police arrived at the spot.

The police registered a case and conducted an investigation in which they identified the accused as Manja Velu (27), from Varaganeri, Jaya Surya (25), from Jeeva Nagar and Mohan (29), from Varaganeri. Subsequently, the trio was arrested. Among the trio, Manja Velu and Jaya Surya are history-sheeters. Further investigations are on.