Seoni, May 16: Three minor boys, the youngest of them 11 years old, allegedly strangled their 12-year-old friend with a cycle chain, smashed his head with a stone and slit his throat with a sharp knife in a village in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Monday.

Later, they stuffed the body in a polythene bag and dumped it on a pile of pebbles near their house. The crime came to light after a woman spotted the blood-stained bag and informed the police.

Police suspect an old dispute as the trigger behind the brutal murder.  Uttar Pradesh: Couple Kill Man Who Harassed Wife in Sultanpur, Arrested.

The three boys have been detained and produced in court which sent them to a correctional home for 14 days.

"The trio, aged 16, 14 and 11 respectively including two brothers, called the 12-year-old boy to a deserted place in Magarkatha village, about 28 km from the Seoni district headquarters, on Sunday," Barghat police station Inspector Prasanna Sharma told PTI. Gujarat Shocker: Parents of Five Kill Baby Blaming Her For Car Accident, Arrested.

He said the three boys executed the murder like habitual killers.

"They planned the crime and called their 12-year-old friend to a secluded place. They caught hold of him and strangled him with a cycle chain. As the boy cried in pain, they smashed his head with a big stone, and slit his throat with a sharp knife which is used for slaughtering goats," Sharma said.

To ensure that a woman living nearby is not alarmed, the trio stuffed the 12-year-old's body in a polythene bag, dumped it on a heap of pebbles near their house and fled, the police officer said.

He said further investigation is underway.