A court in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh has awarded life imprisonment to two men for killing their relative after a drunken argument over the Bihar Assembly election results last year. While the accused were JD(U) supporters, the victim backed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Principal District and Sessions Judge Amitabh Mishra on Saturday convicted Rajesh Manjhi (25) and Tufani Manjhi (27) under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The court handed both men life terms and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 each, bringing the trial to a close within 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.

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.