Police on Friday claimed to have solved the murder case of 20-year-old Manish Kumar, whose body had been cut into pieces and stacked in a bag in a lodge in the old city area.

Manish, a resident of Nawada in south Bihar, had come to Patna one-and-a-half months ago for study purpose. He used to reside in a lodge in the Bahadurpur locality. Rajesh, Dhiraj, Sandeep, Rakesh and Rohit, all in the age group of 17-22 years, have been identified as the culprits.

"All the accused are residents of Sheikhpura and Nawada. Rajesh, who too is a resident of the same village, was a friend of Manish. Seeing his family doing well, he shared information about the victim with his friends. Rohit then hatched a conspiracy to kidnap him for ransom," Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vikas Vaibhav said on Friday.

The police said according to the plan, Dhiraj, Rakesh and Sandeep reached Patna on October 7 and booked a room at the lodge at Nagina Market located in the Sultanganj police station area.

"Though Rohit was the main conspirator, he wasn't in the room during the murder. On October 12, Rajesh invited Manish for a party at the lodge. Manish and Rajesh reached the lodge, where Dhiraj, Rakesh and Sandeep were already present. They started drinking but Manish refused. Doubting their motives, Manish wanted to go back but was not allowed. The youths hit Manish on the head with a dagger to knock him out but he died," the officer said.

He added: "The youths then panicked and then cut his body into pieces."

The SSP said Rajesh, who had been arrested, spilled the beans. Based on the information provided by him, Rakesh and Dhiraj were arrested from Sheikhpura. Sandeep and Rohit, however, are absconding.