Three persons, including a woman and two minor children, were killed and two others were seriously injured when a man attacked them with a sharp weapon in Rohtas district on Saturday.

The injured — identified as Sunita Devi, 40 and Arti Kumari, 5 — have been admitted to the Sasaram sadar hospital for treatment. The police have detained three persons for interrogation in the case.

The incident took place at Mirzapur village around 9am when the minor children were about to go to school. Police said Sunil Yadav attacked five members of a family with a sharp-edged weapon following a dispute over some petty issue on Saturday.

While Lalsa Devi, 40, Chhotu Kumar, 3, and Golu Kumar, 4, died on the spot, Sunita and Arti suffered injuries in the attack. The victims tried to catch hold of the attacker but in vain. He managed to escape.

Rohtas superintendent of police (SP) Satyaveer Singh said three suspects have been detained and raids were underway to nab others involved in the crime.

Previous enmity is stated to be the reason behind the killings.

The bodies were handed over to the family after post-mortem.

The incident has sparked off tension at the village falling under the jurisdiction of Tilauthu police station, around 30km from the district headquarters town. Additional armed force has been deployed at the village to avert any untoward incident.