Bulandshahr, Aug 2 (IANS): The body of a Bulandshahr lawyer, who had been missing since July 25, has been found, police said.

Dharmendra Chaudhary's body was recovered from a marble godown in Khurja area on Saturday.

Police have arrested Vicky, the godown owner and a close associate of Chaudhary, and two of his domestic helps - Hakimuddin and Amit.

A money dispute is suspected to be the motive behind the crime.

Chaudhary, in his late 40s, had mysteriously disappeared on July 25 after he left home in Khurja locality to join Vicky, who had hosted a dinner for him at the godown.

The family alerted the police after he did not return home till late in the night and his mobile was found to be switched off.

On July 26, Chaudhary's motorcycle was found abandoned at a desolate spot, nearly 6 km from his last known location.

Bulandshahr Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Santosh Kumar, said: "The family found Chaudhary's ledger and it was learnt that he had lent Rs 50 lakhs to Vicky. There was no technical evidence to nail Vicky for the disappearance of the lawyer but we asked him to undergo a lie-detector test and he refused on health grounds.

"Later, in the intervening night of Friday/Saturday, we conducted a thorough search of the godown."

After a search that lasted for three hours, police found Chaudhary's body in a concrete pit inside the godown.

The pit was covered with tiles but the stench emanating from the decomposed body gave the game away.

"This is not abduction - it is 'murder of trust'," the SSP added.