Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Sep 15 (IANS): Two persons, including a minor, have been arrested for the murder of a 16-year-old boy whose body was recovered from the bank of river Khannaut under the jurisdiction of Deoria Kotwali.

The victim had gone missing on September 11.

Police said the victim had lent Rs 20,000 to one of the accused and was asking for it.

The victim, identified as Himanshu, was staying in a rented room in Bisalpur city as his college was nearby.

The incident came to the fore when the victim's father filed a missing complaint.

According to Hari Prasad's statement, his son parked his bicycle outside his rented room in Patel Nagar locality on September 11 and then went missing.

Himanshu's phone was also switched off.

SHO Praveen Kumar said one of the two arrested persons, who is 17 years old, was Himanshu's classmate. He had borrowed Rs 20,000 from Himanshu three months ago.

"As Himanshu started demanding his money back, the minor hatched a conspiracy with his friend Vijay, 19, to kill Himanshu," the SHO said, and added that "On September 11, both the accused reached Bisalpur on a bike and took Himanshu with them on the pretext of having a party. After reaching the bridge across Khannaut river in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, they strangled Himanshu and fled."

The two accused have confessed to have committed the crime. The minor will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, while Vijay will appear before the remand magistrate on Thursday.

The body was cremated after the autopsy on Wednesday.