SALEM: A DMK member was hacked to death while he was sleeping outside his house near Thalaivasal in Salem district in the early hours of Tuesday.The murdered man has been identified as Manickam, 56, of Vellaiyur village. Manickam’s second wife, Indira, who came out of the house in the morning, saw him lying in a pool of blood and raised an alarm. Hearing her cries, Manickam’s son from his first marriage, Udhay Prakash, rushed out from a nearby house and saw his father murdered. Neighbours gathered and informed the Veeraganur police.Senior officers, including Salem district superintendent of police S Kuthalingam, Attur DSP Sathyaraj and a team from the Veeraganur police station inspected the crime scene and began investigations.The SP said Manickam had long-standing disputes with some relatives over a parcel of agricultural land, this could be the reason for his murder. “Forensic experts and sniffer dogs collected evidence,” he said.The Veeraganur police registered a case.