Patna, Oct. 21: Police today said the lawyer’s son whose body was found in a car yesterday was murdered. Four persons were also detained in connection with the crime.

“The post-mortem report of Rahul Gautam, 31, states that he died because of strangulation. Now, it is certain that this is a murder and the police will be investigating the case from that angle. All points are being taken into consideration in the case,” Patna city superintendent of police (central) Shivdeep Lande told The Telegraph today.

Residents and a police patrol team had found Rahul’s silver Ford Fiesta parked near the Shiva temple in Ram Nagri area under Shastri Nagar police station and his body inside it yesterday morning.

Police sources said Rahul’s family had claimed that he had Rs 40,000 and a cellphone on him when he left home on Wednesday evening. “Though investigations are on, the police did not find the cash or the mobile in the car. Prima facie, it appears to be a murder over business rivalry. With the deceased’s cyber café shutting down a few months ago, he might have been indebted and was under pressure to pay up,” a police officer of Rajiv Nagar police station told The Telegraph.

Rahul’s family lodged an FIR naming four suspects behind the crime. “Rahul’s father said Sunny, Vinod, Prince and Gautam, friends of Rahul who used to frequent their family residence, had recently threatened his son over a tiff regarding some financial transaction. We have detained the four men and are interrogating them,” another police officer said.

Sources said Rahul was addicted to liquor and drugs. He used to visit a rehabilitation centre for treatment.

The police said they have leads that Rahul left his home on Wednesday alone in his car but was later joined by four others.

“The four persons could be the same people whom Rahul’s father has named. It appears that the deceased was beaten up before being strangled to death and his body placed on the footboard of the car’s rear seat. The car was then driven and parked in the Rajabazaar locality. The forensic science laboratory is helping us in the case,” the officer said.

Rahul’s father, Aditya Narayan Singh, is an advocate in Patna High Court. His elder brother is in the merchant navy and is in Germany at present.

Gautam got married around a year ago and his wife is in Gaya to take an examination. The relationship between the couple was strained because Gautam was unemployed, the police said.