A man and his son died on the spot when the bike they were travelling on was hit by a tractor near Arakkonam on Friday.

The police said Rajini, 35, of Pallur village near Arakkonam, was driving a two-wheeler to his home town, when the accident happened. His sons, Akash, 7, and Dinesh, 5, were riding pillion. The tractor which came from the opposite direction hit and toppled them into a paddy field nearby. While Rajini and Dinesh died on the spot, Akash was injured and was rushed to the Arakkonam Government Hospital. The tractor was allegedly carrying sand from a nearby riverbed. When the Nemili police reached the spot, villagers protested and urged them to arrest the tractor’s driver and owner, who they said were involved in illegal sand quarrying.

Senior officials from Arakkonam and Ranipet arrived and assured the agitated public that action would be taken against the errant driver. The bodies were sent to the government hospital for post-mortem. The tractor’s owner Rajesh, 35, and driver Satheesh, 29, were arrested and investigations are on.