Gurugram, Mar 18 (IANS): A youth in his mid-20s was allegedly strangulated to death by four of his friends over Rs 500, the police said here on Sunday.

The victim, identified as Amrit alias Tiger, had borrowed Rs 500 from Punit, one of the accused. As the victim was unable to return the money, he was allegedly assaulted and strangulated near Wajirpur on the Gurugram-Pataudi road by the accused with the help of his friends.

"The incident came to light on Saturday evening after the victim's father registered a missing complaint at the Sector 10A police station. In the complaint, he said three friends of Amrit -- Punit, Aman and Sahil -- came to his house located in Shiv Nagar area on Saturday and demanded Rs 500 from him. When he couldn't pay the money back, they asked Amrit to come for a ride with them," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajbeer Deshwal.

"The accused hired an auto rickshaw and took the victim towards Pataudi. When they reached near a school in Wajirpur, the accused started to assault him with batons. They beat him till he became unconscious. The accused then strangulated Amrit to death," Deshwal said.

The accused then dumped the body in a drain near Navada village. They also put stones in the victim's clothes to ensure that the body stayed under the water.

"Following the description given by the victim's father, we raided the places of the accused and arrested them. The three accused belong to Gadhi village. The auto driver, Vishal, has also been nabbed. They have confessed to the crime," Deshwal said.