A taxi driver from Punjab allegedly strangled his friend over a money dispute in a hotel in southwest Delhi's Vasant Kunj area.  Mandeep Singh (32), a resident of Punjab's Rup Nagar, was arrested in Karol Bagh here on Friday night and the victim's car, wallet and clothes were recovered from his possession, the police said.

The body of the victim, Rohit (28), was found in the bathroom of a room by the hotel staff on Thursday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Rohit Meena said. During interrogation, the hotel staff told the police that Rohit and Mandeep had reached their hotel in a car around 1.30 am on July 4 and around 3:20 am, Mandeep left the hotel, DCP Meena said.

The next morning, when the hotel staff went to check the room, they found Rohit's body in the bathroom, he said.  The DCP said that a team was formed to trace Mandeep, the prime suspect of this case.

On the basis of technical evidences, the team also conducted a raid in Chandigarh and the immigration authorities were alerted as the accused is a passport holder, he added.

According to DCP Meena, Rohit and Mandeep had reached here from Punjab to drop a passenger at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. They were tired so decided to rest at a hotel here overnight, he said.

During the stay, they got into an argument over a previous dispute related to money that Rohit owned Mandeep, Meena said.  Following the argument, Mandeep strangled Rohit while he was in the bathroom and fled away with his car, wallet and clothes, he said. The DCP said that Mandeep also withdrew some money from Rohit's ATM card.  The accused is being further interrogated, he added.