An Indian car washer was killed after a colleague inserted a high-pressure air hose into his rectum, local media has been reported.

The police maintain that the death of Yakub Sheikh, 48, was a prank gone wrong but his family have said it was a hate crime.

Santhosh Aherkar is said to have thrust the powerful hose up Sheikh's rear at the Toyota Shinrai showroom in Cotton Green, Mumbai, after an alleged argument over the practice of 'animal sacrifice'. He is currently in police custody.

The police maintain that the death of Yakub Sheikh at a Toyota showroom (pictured) in Mumbai was a prank gone wrong, but his family have said it is a hate crime

At a press conference in Mumbai, Sheikh's daughter Shafia said: 'We just want justice, because we simply cannot believe this murder is the work of just one man.

'Why aren't the police investigating properly? Why are they so willing to accept the company's version of events?'

According to India Express, another of Sheikh's relatives said: 'We have learned that Aherkar and my brother had been having an argument over the practice of animal sacrifice.

He said that Aherkar told his brother, who is a Muslim, on September 29: 'You had mutton, we will take out your mutton now.'

Santhosh Aherkar is said to have thrust the powerful hose up Sheikh's rear at the Toyota Shinrai showroom in Cotton Green, Mumbai (file photo)

Local NGOs, which are independently investigating the death, accused the police of trying to cover up the incident.

Susan Abraham from the Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights said: 'If Aherkar approached Yakub with a running pressure hose, the noise would have alerted Yakub.

'We suspect he was pinned down by some people while Aherkar inserted the pipe. This is a conspiracy of silence between the police and the company.'

The joint commissioner of police, Deven Bharti, responded to the accusations by saying: 'The investigation into the case is still going on.