A 56-year old Village Administrative Officer (VAO) who came under murderous attack at his office in Murappanadu in Thoothukudi district died without responding to treatment on April 25. The victim was identified as Lourthu Francis. Two unidentified assailants entered his office at around noon and hacked him indiscriminately and fled the scene. The victim with multiple cut injuries on his body was rushed to a Government Hospital, where he died. Thoothukudi SP L. Balaji Saravanan inspected the spot and held enquiries. The motive behind the incident is yet to be known. Murappanadu police have filed a case. Special teams formed to nab the culprits, sources said. Preliminary investigations revealed that he was murdered after the police registered a case against sand mafia gangster on the VAO's complaint.