COIMBATORE: A Malaysian man and his son were assaulted with deadly weapons by two unidentified men following a heated altercation near a petrol outlet at Navakkarai in Coimbatore district on Wednesday evening.The injured have been identified as Loganathan, 52, and his son Ugendran,21. Both were admitted to a private hospital in Madukkarai.According to police, 11 Malaysian tourists were travelling in a hired van from Alappuzha in Kerala to Chennai. Around 5.30pm, when the vehicle stopped near a petrol pump on the Cochin–Salem Bypass, an altercation broke out between the tourists and two men on the road. The argument quickly escalated, and the duo attacked Loganathan and Ugendran with sickles, damaging the vehicle’s windowpanes.Following the assault, the driver sped towards Madukkarai. However, the assailants chased the van on a two-wheeler. Upon reaching Madukkarai market, one of the pursuers brandished an object resembling a firearm, forcing the driver to stop the vehicle. As locals rushed to the scene upon hearing the commotion, the assailants fled.Alerted by locals, the Madukkarai police and senior officers arrived at the scene. They secured CCTV footage on the bypass to identify the culprits and establish the sequence of events.Police registered a case and launched a manhunt.
