A 25-year-old youth was allegedly strangled to death in Dausa district of Rajasthan after he tried to stop three men from applying colour on him ahead of Holi, police said on Thursday.

The incident was reported from Ralwas village on Wednesday evening when Ashok, Bablu and Kaluram reached a local library to apply colour on Hansraj. The latter was preparing for competitive exams there and didn’t want to celebrate the festival.

As Hansraj refused to be smeared with colours, the trio kicked him and thrashed him with their buckles, before one of them strangled him to death, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Dinesh Agarwal said.

The grieving family members and villagers later staged a protest with Hansraj’s body, blocking a national highway in the area that continued till 1 am on Thursday.

The protesters demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to Hansraj’s family, a government job a member of the family, and instant arrest of the three involved in the crime. The body was finally removed from the highway after the assurance from the police.