Pune, April 1 - In a shocking incident, a teenager was killed by three of his friends after they asked for a ransom of Rs.50,000 which his father could not pay, police said Sunday.

Shubham Shirke, 15, went to meet his friends Saturday afternoon, police officer Motichand Rathod told IANS.

According to his grandmother, one of his friends had invited him. 'When he didn't return till late night, his father registered a complaint of kidnapping,' Rathod said.

Shubham's father got ransom calls asking for Rs.50,000 in cash. He managed to collect Rs.15,000 and rushed to the spot as instructed, Rathod said.

According to police, the boys kept calling Shubham's father for more money. But police later found out that Shubham had been killed between 2 and 3 p.m. Saturday itself.

The three killers, aged 15, 16 and 19, have been arrested. They confessed to strangling Shubham with a belt, Rathod said.

They said 19-year-old Amit Nair had come with another accused on a bike to collect the ransom money.

Rathod said the boys were carried out the crime after seeing a show on television.