A political argument over the Bihar Assembly election results spiraled into a gruesome murder in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district, where a 22-year-old labourer from Bihar was allegedly killed by his own maternal uncles following a late-night brawl soaked in liquor, rage, and political rivalry.
The shocking incident unfolded late Sunday night at a government quarters construction site in Guna's Cantonment police station area, where all three men, the victim Shankar Manjhi and accused Toofani and Rajesh worked and lived together with other labourers. All of them hailed from Bihar's Sheohar district and had come to Guna just days earlier for work.
According to the police, the three cooked dinner and had a drinking session at the construction site. As the bottles emptied, their conversation drifted toward the Bihar Assembly election result. Shankar, a staunch supporter of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), reportedly clashed with his uncles Toofani and Rajesh, both vocal backers of the Janata Dal (United) (JD-U).
What began as drunken banter quickly morphed into a fierce political fight. Investigators say the altercation turned violent when the two accused allegedly made derogatory comments about former Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. Enraged, Shankar retaliated with strong abuses triggering an explosion of anger.
The argument soon escalated into a brutal assault. Police say both uncles pounced on the young man, beat him mercilessly, and then dragged him towards a muddy pit near the under-construction quarters. In a horrifying act, they allegedly pinned him down and forced his face into the mud, holding him there until he suffocated. Shankar died on the spot as mud filled his mouth and lungs, choking him to death.
After committing the crime, the duo tried to flee the scene, leaving their nephew's body half-buried in the sludge.
The murder came to light when police received information about an unidentified body lying near the construction site. "We got the information about an unidentified body lying near the under-construction residential quarters. The police team rushed to the spot and recovered the body. Subsequent investigations led us to the accused duo within an hour only," said Guna district superintendent of police Ankit Soni.
Based on the interrogation of the arrested men, police say the motive was clear. "Ongoing probe based on the quizzing of the arrested duo has revealed that it was a verbal spat between them over the recent assembly poll results in Bihar, which turned violent, resulting in the murder," SP Soni added.
Both accused identified as Toofani (35) and Rajesh (29) were arrested within an hour of the crime and have allegedly confessed during questioning, admitting that political rivalry, liquor, and rage led them to kill their own nephew.
The case has sent shockwaves through the local community, highlighting how deeply entrenched political passions even hundreds of kilometres away from Bihar can erupt into deadly violence. Police say further investigation is underway.
