MADURAI: A 57-year-old man was murdered over a land dispute near Sathankulam on Wednesday evening.

The deceased has been identified as James Sithar Selvan of Puthantharuvai. The victim was the husband of SSI, Matilda Jeyarani, sources said. Thattarmadam police held inquiries.

Investigations revealed that the incident occurred while the victim was taking his mother to his vacant land. Jacob Thangapandi (44) of the same locality owned a piece of land adjacent to the victim’s site.

Trouble erupted when the victim found that a small portion of his land was fenced by Thangapandi. It triggered an altercation resulting in the murder of Selvan.

Based on a complaint, Thattarmadam police filed a case and arrested the accused.