A brick kiln owner was killed and an eatery along with a liquor shop were set ablaze following a dispute over kiln dust in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh district.
The 38-year-old owner was fatally stabbed by a group that included the dhaba owner, prompting his family and locals to block a highway and confront police with stone pelting.
The incident occurred on Monday night in Kherot village within the jurisdiction of Kotwali police station in Pratapgarh, reportedly.
DSP Herambh Joshi stated that Jaisingh Lalana, the dhaba owner and primary suspect, has been arrested and is currently undergoing interrogation.
Joshi explained that Ghanshyam Prajapat's brick kiln and Lalana's dhaba are situated close to each other. They reportedly had a disagreement a few days earlier regarding dust emissions from the kiln.
On Monday evening, they had another altercation on the same issue during which Prajapat allegedly slapped an employee of the dhaba and went home after the incident, the DSP said.
At night, six people, including Lalana, allegedly arrived at Prajapat's house on two motorbikes and took him outside.
After the group allegedly thrashed Prajapat, Lalana attacked him with a knife, killing him on the spot. The accused fled the spot after the murder, he added.
Agitated over Prajapat's murder, his family members set the dhaba and liquor shop on fire at night, pelted stones at police vehicles and blocked the Pratapgarh-Ratlam highway, they said.
The blockade was cleared after pacifying the protestors, however, additional police force has been deployed on the spot, they added.
The DSP said teams have been formed to nab the remaining accused.
The body is kept in the mortuary of the district hospital and is yet to be sent for postmortem, the police said.
