Officials say the Nahan-Shimla Highway that connects Punjab to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh is often used for cattle smuggling.
A man has been arrested for the mob killing of a young man in Himachal Pradesh's Nahan who was allegedly smuggling cattle. The arrested man is the driver of a Sumo vehicle that had intercepted the truck, which was being used for the smuggling, police said.
Police sources said more arrests were likely.
"We will hopefully be able get all of them in the next few days," Superintendent of Police Nahan Soumya Sambasivan told NDTV. "I do not want to give out too much details at this stage," she added.
Cattle smuggling is rampant on the Nahan-Shimla highway but on Wednesday, after the truck was intercepted, the villagers took on the alleged smugglers and after capturing them, mercilessly beat them up.
A 28-year-old man - Noman - died after the attack. Four others have been seriously injured.
The incident comes in the wake of the September 28 lynching in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri. A 52-year-old man and his son were beaten to death after rumours of cow slaughter and beef consumption.
On October 9, a truck driver and his assistant were attacked with petrol bombs in Jammu's Udhampur after rumours of cow slaughter in the area. The driver, Zahid Ahmad, who was undergoing treatment in Delhi, died today.