The incident happened at Marukalkurichi village in the district.

One of the victims was beheaded by the group of about 10 armed assailants who hurled country bombs before entering the deceased persons' houses, located adjacent to each other, a senior police official said. The victims were identified as Shanmugathai (48) and Santhi (45).

Police said the women were attacked with sharp-edged weapons after the assailants hurled a couple of country bombs and entered their homes. The incident seemed to be a fallout of a previous enmity, police said citing preliminary investigation.

The daylight murder sent shockwaves in the area, even as senior police officials including district Superintendent of Police, N Manivannan, visited the spot.