Three people died following violent protests by supporters of MK Azhagiri, the eldest son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, in Madurai on Wednesday. Angered by a survey in Dinakaran that said Karunandihi's second son M.K. Stalin was most suited to succeed his father as political heir, Azhagiri's supporters attacked the Tamil daily's Madurai office with petrol bombs.

Three Dinakaran employees died of suffocation after they were trapped in a room which caught fire.

One group of Azhagiri's supporters began the protest by burning bundles of Dinakaran. Later, another group ransacked the newspaper’s office, breaking computers and furniture.

The police said a mob led by three prominent supporters of Azhagiri brandishing weapons barged into the Dinakaran office, bolted one of the rooms, and threw petrol bombs. They next attacked state transport buses and private vehicles outside.

Dinakaran is owned by Karunanidhi's grandnephew Kalanidhi Maran, brother of Union minister Dayanidhi Maran. Karunanidhi condemned the violence and said whoever was behind it would be sternly dealt with.