KALYAN: Nearly two weeks after the body of a 21-year old man was found in the bushes near Ambivli, two of his friends have been arrested for allegedly murdering him . The police said that the two friends—Ambernath residents Gokul Pardeshi (25) and Pramod Rajput (23)—had invited Mayur Dolase (21) for dinner on November 8 where they laced his food with a sedative and strangled him after he had passed out.The original plan , according to the police, was to demand Rs 25 lakh ransom from the family of Dolase, who are "well-to-do", but they chickened out and instead killed him. Pardeshi and Rajput then propped up Dolase's body between them on their bike and travelled 6km before dumping it in the bushes at an isolated spot in AmbivliDolase was an apprentice with the railways while Rajput is an attendant at the airport and Pardeshi is jobless. Locals who spotted the unidentified body informed the police. The description matched Dolase's personal attributes listed in a missing person's complaint lodged by his family members who identified the body.Dolase's call records revealed that he had last spoken to his girlfriend, said inspector Madhukar Bhoge of Kolsewadi police station. "The girl said that Dolase had told her of his dinner plan with Pardeshi and Rajput," said Bhoge. Another police officer said that the two friends gave contradictory statements and they were arrested after a detailed probe.

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