KOCHI: A youth has been arrested for allegedly beating his friend to death in Varapetty, Kothamangalam, Ernakulam. The deceased has been identified as Sijo, a native of Erambra. The accused, Francis, who was a close friend of Sijo, has been taken into custody. According to police, a quarrel that broke out while drinking led to the fatal attack.

Police said Francis killed Sijo by striking him on the head with a pickaxe. Shockingly, it was Francis himself who called locals to his house, asking them to witness a “big incident” that had occurred there. When the locals arrived, they found Sijo’s body in a pool of blood, with a deep head injury, wrapped in a cloth. Francis was reportedly heavily intoxicated at the time. The locals then immediately alerted the police, following which Francis was

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