The body of an engineering student with his throat slit was found in Ilambazar area in West Bengal's Birbhum district, police said on Sunday.

A friend of the deceased has been arrested in connection with the case, a senior officer said.

Syed Salauddin, a 22-year-old student of a private engineering college in Durgapur, was missing since Saturday afternoon and his body was recovered from a jungle in the Ilambazar area later in the day, he said.

"Salauddin had gone out with his friend on September 10. There are reports that his father received a phone call yesterday afternoon, and a ransom of Rs 30 lakh was demanded from him. His friend is being interrogated. We are trying to ascertain the motive behind the murder and trace the alleged caller," the officer said.

To a question, he said the district police is trying to find out whether the ransom after the kidnap was the motive behind the murder.

Salauddin's father owns a stone-crushing unit in the area, the officer added