London, Jan 13: A 49-year-old Sikh mathematics lecturer at Oxford University has been arrested after the body of a British colleague was found at his home.

The body of Steven Rawlings, a 50-year-old astrophysicist, was found at the home of Devinder Sivia in Oxfordshire Wednesday, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Sivia who lectures at St John's College was arrested from his bungalow in Southmoor Thursday and questioned by officers from Thames Valley Police.

He is a stipendiary lecturer in Mathematics for Sciences at Oxford University. He lectures to undergraduates studying chemistry and physics and has published two books.

Rawling's family, however, said they did not believe that Sivia could have murdered his friend and blamed the death on "a tragic accident".

Linda Davey, the 64-year-old elder sister of Rawling, said he was not the type of man to get into an argument over anything.

"They have been friends for 30 years. We can't think that there was any kind of fight. We can only assume that it was a terrible accident. Steven was big, but he was gentle," Davey said.

Police said the two academicians reportedly had an argument after returning to Sivia's house following a meal at a local pub.

Both had been friends for many years, and also co-wrote a book, "Foundations of Science Mathematics", which was published in 1999. 

Rawlings was based at St Peter's College. He was a keen amateur footballer and also played cricket.