Four persons including two brothers have been arrested for kidnapping and murdering a goldsmith in Sopore town of Baramulla district, police said Monday.

A police spokesman identified the arrested as Sopore residents Mohammad Ail Lara and Mohammad Sajad Lara, sons of Mohammad Afzal Lara, Nayeem Ahmad Lara son of Ghulam Mohammad Lara and Ghulam Mohammad Lara son of Ghulam Qadir Lara.

The accused kidnapped Tariq Ahmad Malik, a Kupwara resident,  from his shop in Sopore, to extort gold and money from him on the evening of December 26, the spokesman said.

“They killed him on spot by strangulation and then disposed off his body by throwing it in River Jhelum,” the spokesman said.