Kota: Tension flared up in Kanwas town of Kota district Sunday after a man was stabbed to death by a person belonging to another community. The stabbing, which occurred outside a showroom in the local market at noon, allegedly involved Ateek Ahmed, a criminal out on bail with three cases registered against him.The deceased was identified as Sandeep Sharma, a local resident.Kota Rural SP Sujit Shankar said the stabbling occurred after a minor argument when Ahmed asked Sharma to vacate his seat inside the showroom. Upon Sharma’s refusal to do so, Ahmed left but returned about ten minutes later, armed with a knife, and inflicted multiple stab wounds on Sharma before fleeing the scene.The incident triggered outrage among the local population, with traders closing their establishments and local residents, accompanied by workers from Hindu organisations, storming the market area. Attempts were made to set Ahmed’s house on fire, though the main damage was to a shop belonging to one of Ahmed’s relatives, which was gutted in the fire.Following the violence, police teams were dispatched to track down the absconding Ahmed, and additional police forces were stationed in the area to maintain order.Sharma’s family and local villagers refused to consent to a postmortem, demanding instead that Ahmed be killed in an encounter and his house be demolished. State energy minister Heeralal Nagar, divisional commissioner Rajendra Shekhawat, Kota collector Ravindra Goswami, and SP Sujit Shankar visited Kanwas town to engage in dialogue with the locals. Following assurances of assistance and compensation under existing provisions, the locals reportedly agreed to permit the postmortem late in the evening. No senior official provided updates on the situation in the town by evening.
