The Chengalpattu taluk police have arrested a 35-year-old man for allegedly murdering his friend and dumping the body in a quarry near Maraimalai Nagar, on Saturday. The accused surrendered at the station on Thursday.

The arrested man has been identified as Saravanan of St. Thomas Mount. He ran a travel agency. The deceased, Vinodh, 29, a native of Salem district, was a marketing executive at a private firm. Vinodh had borrowed ₹6 lakh in instalments and could not return it despite repeated reminders.

Police sources said that on May 17 Saravanan invited Vinodh to consume alcohol and together they went to a secluded place near Urapakkam in Saravanan’s car. While consuming alcohol, an argument erupted about repayment of the money and in a fit of rage, Saravanan stabbed Vinoth with a knife and dumped the body at a quarry at Chettipunyam near Maraimalai Nagar.

Almost a week later, he surrendered at the Chengalpattu Taluk police station on Thursday night.

The police formally arrested him and started an inquiry. Based on his confession, the police, along with the fire and rescue department personnel, recovered Vinodh’s body and sent it for postmortem.