An Indian man convicted of murdering his compatriot was beheaded on Sunday in the Hafar al-Batin town in Saudi Arabia, an interior ministry statement said.

Malaya Maroti Bajantra had killed Hakim Ahmed Pasha after striking him on the head with a rock and slashing his throat before robbing him, it said without mentioning from which state the convict hailed from.

Bajantra is the second Indian to be beheaded in Saudi Arabia. A man from Kerala [Images] was beheaded last month on charges of smuggling drugs. The Indian embassy in Riyadh said the man was innocent.

The names of the expats on trial are first translated to Arabic from their passport and then translated back to English when such statements are issued. This, at times, results in total distortion of names making it difficult to identify the person.

This execution brings to 21 the number of people beheaded in Saudi Arabia this year. In 2004, Saudi authorities executed 35 people, while 52 people received capital punishment in 2003.

Among those beheaded are mostly Asians as the Saudi government often sets free Western convicts because of political pressure.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of drug trafficking, murder, rape and armed robbery can be executed. Beheadings are carried out with a sword in public.