Ghaziabad, Sep 5 (IANS) A 23-year-old student was beaten to death by unidentified assailants in the Vijay Nagar area of Ghaziabad, police said Sunday.

According to Superintendent of Police (City) Avdesh Kumar Vijeta, Praveen Singh, a first year MA student of MMH College, had gone out of his house in Rahul Vihar colony for a stroll with his pet dog around 7.30 p.m. Saturday.

'When he did not return home for more than an hour, his parents started looking for him in the neighbourhood and found him lying in a pool of blood outside the Green Hotel on the National Highway-24. His head had several injuries indicating that he was hit by bamboo sticks and rods,' he said.

The boy was taken to Fortis Hospital in Noida where doctors pronounced him dead.

'We suspect that someone at the hotel would have objected to him walking his dog and it could have led to an argument between both sides, which could have snowballed into a fight and someone hit the boy. The matter is being investigated,' Vijeta said.

A case was registered at Vijay Nagar police station against unidentified persons. No arrest was made till Sunday evening.