Jaipur tourist guide stabbed a day earlier dies, fuels tensions

Police said the two accused were taken into custody and questioned, even as traders shut the Amer market and began protesting

A 42-year-old tourist guide died at a hospital in Jaipur on Tuesday, a day after he was stabbed near Amer Fort, fuelling tensions around a popular tourist attraction in Rajasthan’s capital.

Police remained deployed as a precaution.

Police said Manish Soni got into an argument with Azam, a driver, over tourist services to the fort. The argument escalated, and Azam and his associate Nazish allegedly stabbed Soni in the stomach. Soni was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Police said the two accused were taken into custody and questioned, even as traders shut the Amer market and began protesting. Police were deployed in the area, and senior officers pacified the protesters.

Rajendra Godara, a Rajasthan Police officer, said their team rushed to the scene soon after being informed about the stabbing. He cited preliminary probe and added that it indicated the argument triggered the stabbing.

The incident sparked communal tensions as people gathered at the scene, prompting police to intervene to bring the situation under control. Tensions resurfaced on Tuesday following Soni’s death and the shutdown call.

The incident raised concerns over the fallout ahead of the urban local body elections on Wednesday. Police remained deployed in the area as a precaution.

Locals claimed that the fatal attack was linked to this earlier dispute. They alleged that Soni submitted a complaint saying the accused allegedly attempted to kill him and threatened him days before the stabbing, but police did not register a case.

A purported copy of the complaint was circulated on social media. HT could not independently verify the complaint’s authenticity or the allegations in it.

Top police officers declined to comment on specifics and said all aspects of the case would be investigated and action taken accordingly.