Kanpur, Aug 1 (IANS): Two farmers were stabbed to death by unidentified persons in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Their bodies were found lying near a road, the police said.

The two farmer brothers, Raju, 30, and Vineet, 32, had gone to their agricultural field to take care of their crops from stray animals on Tuesday evening but did not return home.

Their bodies were found late on Wednesday beside a road near their field at Khojkipur village, about 48 km from Kanpur city.

"The deceased had deep slashes on their necks, hands and chest. The motive behind the gory killings is yet to be established," Superintendent of Police (Rural) Pradyuman Singh said.

Infuriated over the incident, the villagers raised slogans and tried to stage a protest, but senior officials persuaded them not to take the law into their own hands. They were assured that the murder case will be solved at the earliest.

Inspector General of Police Mohit Agarwal said three teams had been formed to crack the case and arrest the culprits. He added that district police chief Anant Dev had been asked to supervise the investigation.

Agarwal said the deceased's families have not raised suspicion on anyone so far, but the probe suggested some possible motives that could be the reason behind the killings.