Three unidentified youths who arrived on a motorbike shot Azad Patel (26) when he was praying at a mazhar last evening, said Dhar Superintendent of Police Bhagwant Singh Chouhan.
As Patel's friend Raju Khandelwal, who was accompanying him, tried to intervene, the assailants attacked him too with a knife.
Patel died at a hospital here.
The SP said a property dispute could have led to the attack. Further probe is on.