Chennai, May 26 (BPNS)

A  priest of Kalaimannan temple in Madurai who is also a government employee was hacked to death in Madurai on Thursday morning. The deceased Lakshmanan,52 was also working as a clerk at Idayapatti panchayat in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu. He was hacked to death while he was riding a motorbike early in the morning to reach the temple.

The murder of a temple priest on the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reaching the state has alerted the state police and DGP has instructed the Madurai police to immediately nab the culprits.

However, Police said that the murder was due to a personal grudge between some distant relatives and the priest. Police said that some relatives were sore that Lakshmanan was not allowing them to get the ‘first respect’ at the temple.

While Police said that they have taken three people into custody and are questioning them, the immediate family members of the priest are not satisfied.