A drunken brawl ended up in a tragic death with a man working in a temple as mahout getting stabbed by his friend.

The incident followed a dispute among friends at Thrikkadavoor, Kollam. The victim was identified as Raju, a native of Palkulangara, who was a mahout at the Thrikkadavoor temple.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 9.30 pm on Thursday when the first accused, Syam of Thrikkadavoor, met Raju and his friend Naveen Kumar at Kuthirakkadavu. A quarrel soon broke out between Syam and Naveen, allegedly under the influence of liquor.

Syam later called his friend, Mahesh, and the two attacked Raju and Naveen. In a fit of rage, Syam pulled out a knife and stabbed Raju, who was rushed to a nearby hospital but soon succumbed to injuries. The Anchalummoodu police registered a case and arrested both Syam and Mahesh.