A police constable was arrested and another placed under custody for allegedly killing a hotel manager at a New Year’s party in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district, officials said on Friday.

The accused, Anoop Kumar and Amit Kumar were posted as constables in the Chamba district while the victim was identified as hotel manager Rajinder Kumar.

According to police, the incident occurred during a New Year’s party when three police personnel visited a hotel in Banikhet, Chamba. Anoop and Amit got into a heated argument with Rajinder and Sachin, a hotel employee.

In the heat of the moment, Rajinder, Anoop and Sachin fell from the hotel’s elevated parking space and suffered injuries. While Anoop and Sachin suffered fractures, Rajinder Kumar succumbed to injuries.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Yadav said that Amit has been arrested while Anoop will be formally placed under arrest after getting discharged from the hospital. The involvement of the third police personnel is under investigation.

Rajinder’s family members earlier held a protest and demanded action against the accused. They blocked the Pathankot-Chamba National Highway for a few hours which disrupted vehicular movement. They withdrew the protest after the SP assured them of stern action.

Yadav said that the accused were posted in Chamba and were sent to Dalhousie for duty.

“While they were returning from their duty, they headed up to the hotel where the incident took place. We have also checked CCTV footage in which we can see that a scuffle had taken place” he said.

Further investigation into the matter is underway, he added.