Two men who had allegedly strangled to death a 26-year-old man in a hotel room on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road on October 24 were arrested in Odisha on Wednesday.

Shaktikant Behra, 21, and Santosh Behera, 20, were arrested in Cuttack, four days after they walked out of the hotel, leaving the body of Rahul Lal in a bed’s storage, police said.

The motive is still unclear, senior officers of Kolkata Police said. Lal was possibly killed following differences over the sale of an artefact, the officers added.

Lal is suspected to have been part of a network of smugglers dealing in artefacts and antiques. Officers said that Lal was involved in several theft cases.

Police sources said the officers began tracking the two suspects and traced them to a location under the jurisdiction of Banki police station in Cuttack. “The two were intercepted and brought to the police station for interrogation. They later confessed to the crime,” a senior officer said.

“Shaktikant and Santosh hail from Dhenkanal in Odisha. They will be brought to Calcutta,” the officer said.