A grisly murder shook the quiet village of Karunagappally in southern Kerala early Thursday morning, leaving residents in shock. Santhosh, a local from Thachayilmukku, was savagely killed inside his home around 2:30 AM in a targeted attack police believe stemmed from long-standing enmity. The assailants, a gang of five, struck when only Santhosh and his elderly mother were present, amplifying the brutality of the crime.

The attackers set the stage for terror by hurling explosives at the house before forcing their way inside. Once in, they hacked Santhosh to death with sharp weapons and reportedly shattered his leg in a vicious assault. His lifeless body was later moved to a nearby hospital for autopsy and legal formalities, police confirmed.

Santhosh was no stranger to conflict, having been an accused in an earlier attempted murder case, a detail investigators say may hold the key to his killing. The violence didn’t end with his death. Hours later, the same gang allegedly attacked Aneer, a young man, in Vavvakavu, Ochira, near a roadside eatery. Aneer, gravely injured, was rushed to Alappuzha Medical College, fighting for his life.

Police suspect the two incidents are intertwined, possibly part of a revenge-fueled spree tied to Santhosh’s past. As the investigation unfolds, authorities are working to identify the perpetrators and restore calm to a community rattled by this sudden eruption of violence. The motive, though rooted in history, remains under intense scrutiny.