DMK ex-panchayat president hacked to death while walking towards farm

Coimbatore: A former DMK panchayat president was hacked to death in Salem on Wednesday morning. According to police, Kandhan, 55, from Kanniyampatti near Konganapuram was walking towards his farm at around 7.30 am, when two persons came in a two-wheeler and intercepted him. They then took out a sickle and attacked him brutally before fleeing. Shocked villagers immediately rushed Kandhan, who was struggling for life, to a private hospital in Salem. Within a short while, he died without responding to treatment. An inquiry by police revealed that the murder was committed by Manikandan (35) and Chinnapaiyyan (50), both relatives of the deceased. Police suspect a land dispute to be the reason for the murder. A search is on to nab the culprits, who were on the run.