Two persons were hacked to death by a gang at Puduchatram near Chidambaram on Monday night. The deceased were identified as A. Balakrishnan, 47, a TNSTC bus driver and his cousin R. Ramakrishnan, 37, of Palvathunan village.

Police said the victims were talking near the premises of a local temple when a group of unidentified men who arrived on two-wheelers attacked them indiscriminately with machetes and fled the scene.

While Balakrishnan died on the spot, Ramakrishnan succumbed at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chidambaram.

Police suspect land dispute to be the reason behind the double murder. The Puduchatram police have registered a case and are investigating.