Muzaffarnagar (UP), Oct 21 (IANS): The 20-year-old son of a local temple priest, was allegedly shot dead by three of his 'friends'.

The deceased Ayush Mishra succumbed to a gunshot on the head and died on the spot. Police are investigating the case.

According to reports, the incident took place on Wednesday on the Shahbuddinpur Road in the Kotwali Nagar police circle.

The 'friends' had taken Ayush Mishra, from home on the pretext of having dinner.

He was then taken to an isolated place and shot dead. The body of the deceased was found lying at an empty plot on Shahbuddinpur Road.

His father, Pandit Devendra Prasad Mishra, is a priest in the local Gauri Shankar Shiv temple.

The family belongs to Sultanpur district but had settled in Muzaffarnagar about 12 years ago.

The police launched an investigation after sending the body for post-mortem.

The police have arrested three persons -- Sunny a.k.a Tota, Lavish and Ravi Kumar.

According to the police, the accused and the deceased had an argument over a petty thing some time ago.

According to superintendent of police (SP) Arpit Vijayvargiya, "Further investigation is being conducted and action will be taken accordingly".