The incident occurred on July 12 and the victim has been identified as Avudaiyappan, a resident of Parayadi near Tirunelveli town, police added. The victim, who worked as a plumber, resided on Manthiramurthy Street and was a married father of two.

He was murdered by unidentified persons near the Sudalaimadan temple on the Tirunelveli-Sankarankoil road.

Preliminary information indicates that three men on a two-wheeler intercepted the victim in broad daylight and inflicted multiple cut injuries to his face with a machete before fleeing. Prior enmity is currently suspected to be the motive behind the attack.

After noticing him lying dead, passers-by alerted the Tirunelveli town police. Initially, residents of Parayadi and Avudaiyappan's relatives refused to allow the police to take away the body and staged a protest demanding the arrest of the accused. The agitation near the Kottai Adi burial ground disrupted traffic on the Tirunelveli-Sankarankoil route for over an hour.

Police said they held talks with them and later sent the body for a post-mortem examination at the Tirunelveli Government Medical College Hospital. Sniffer dogs were also brought to the crime scene to assist with evidence gathering.

A case was registered at the Tirunelveli town police station and further investigations are underway. A senior police official from the Tirunelveli city police said that five special teams had been formed to nab the accused. Two suspects are currently being interrogated in connection with the murder.