TIRUCHY: A verbal fight over erecting banners for the consecration of a local temple between two groups turned violent, in which a 50-year-old man was killed at Papanasam in Thanjavur on Thursday.

With the consecration of the Sri Kaliamman temple scheduled for Thursday, a group led by T Sethupathi erected a digital banner welcoming the devotees on Wednesday. Meanwhile, another group led by M Prakash decided to install a banner at the same spot, triggering a heated argument between the groups, which snowballed into a physical assault.

Shocked, the elders pacified the groups, after which both gangs left the place. However, at around 2 am, Prakash, along with his father M Mathiyazhagan (58) and his brother Rajkumar (30), went to the house of Sethupathi and picked up a quarrel. Suddenly, the trio attacked Sethupathi and his father, Thalapathi (50), with lethal weapons. Thalapathi died on the spot, sustaining stab injuries to his chest and other parts. The trio escaped.

On receiving information, Kabisthalam police rushed to the spot, retrieved the body and sent it to Papanasam GH. The police have registered a case, and further investigations are under way.