Two men in Madhya Pradesh have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of their relative after a drunken argument escalated over the Bihar election results, highlighting the deadly consequences of political tensions.
A court in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district has sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of their relative following a drunken brawl over the Bihar assembly election results last year.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Amitabh Mishra on Saturday found Rajesh Manjhi (25) and Tufani Manjhi (27) guilty of charges under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The court sentenced the duo to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 each, completing the trial in five months.
The incident occurred on November 16 last year in the Cantt area, where the two accused and the victim, Shankar Manjhi, all labourers hailing from Bihar, were working at a construction site.
The trio had arrived in Guna for work just days before the crime.
According to the prosecution, the trio consumed alcohol after dinner when an argument broke out over the Bihar election results, and escalated into a violent clash.
Rajesh and Tufani allegedly forced Shankar's face into mud, suffocating him to death, they said.
Police said that Rajesh and Tufani were JD(U) supporters, while the victim backed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and the argument intensified after remarks about a political leader.
The Cantt police registered the first information report, arrested the accused, and filed a chargesheet within 40 days.
Though several witnesses turned hostile during the trial, DNA evidence played a key role as the victim's skin traces were found under the accused's fingernails and matched in forensic tests.