Durg, June 5 (PTI) Police on Monday unravelled the motive behind the murder of a 41-year-old man in Durg district of Chhattisgarh and said the crime was the fallout of the victim's failure to pay back Rs 1.50 lakh he had taken from his jail mate and prime accused and ruled out the online betting angle.

Police have arrested three men involved in the crime, a police officer said.

Also Read | Maharashtra Shocker: Woman Delivers Baby in Auto on Vasmat Hospital Premises, Hingoli Staff Get Show-Cause Notices.

Om Prakash Sahu was kidnapped on May 31 and his body was found in Akroldih pond in Old Bhilai area on the night of June 2. He was allegedly killed by his friend Ashish Tiwari after the victim failed to return Rs 1.50 lakh he had taken from Tiwari, police said.

"After killing Sahu, the accused called up the victim's wife and demanded a ransom of Rs 30 lakh. They used the name of a betting app for misleading the police," an official said.

Also Read | Telangana Shocker: Four Cousins, Two of Them Girls, Drown in Krishna River While Swimming in Jogulamba Gadwal District.

He said Ashish Tiwari had become friends with Sahu in Durg central jail. After coming out of the facility, Sahu took Rs 1.50 lakh from Tiwari but failed to return the amount, Superintendent of Police Shalabh Sinha said.

"Tiwari had used the name of a betting app to mislead the police," he said.

Police have arrested Ashish Tiwari, Anuj Tiwari and Rajneesh Pandey for murder and other charges under the Indian Penal Code.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)