Kaalimuthu (40), a farmer from Moolachi village near Kallidaikurichi, was travelling on a two-wheeler with his two sons when an unidentified gang allegedly rammed their car into the vehicle, knocked them down and attacked them with deadly weapons on Thursday. They attacked indiscriminately and decapitated him. The victim’s head was found abandoned in a bag on the road, a police official said.

Kaalimuthu and his son Jayaraj (5) were killed in the attack, while his other son Chinnadurai (15) sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment at the Tirunelveli Government Medical College Hospital.

Based on the complaint, the Veeravanallur police registered a case and launched an investigation. The police have booked 11 persons, including Mahesh, Manikandan and Krishnan, sons of Sivagurunathan; Arul, Mani and Patturaja, sons of Perumal Pandiyan; Subash and Mahendran, sons of Rasaiya; Kandan, son of Krishnan; Rajadurai, son of Mookkandi; and Thangadurai, son of Vellapandi. All the suspects hail from the Moolachi village.

Now, the police have arrested three accused in the double murder - Mahendran alias Mahesh (29) of Moolachi, Kokki Kumar alias Kumar (23) of Moolachi, and Muthuchelvan (29) of Oorkadu. The police said efforts are under way to trace and arrest the remaining accused.. The police suspect previous enmity to be the cause of the attack