A 28-year-old man has been arrested for the alleged rape and murder of an eight-year-old Class III student in Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district.
The girl was allegedly abducted from outside her school under the jurisdiction of Gotegaon police station, police said.
Narsinghpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Rishikesh Meena said Gotegaon police received information on Wednesday evening that the girl had not returned home from school. Multiple police teams were immediately formed to trace her.
During the investigation, one of the teams learnt that the girl was last seen with her neighbour, identified as Annu Yadav.
Police subsequently tracked down the accused. On spotting the police, Annu allegedly tried to flee on a motorcycle but lost control after the speeding bike skidded off the road, sustaining injuries in the process.
"During questioning, Annu initially tried to mislead the police. However, a thorough examination revealed bloodstains on him. He was then interrogated extensively and eventually confessed to the crime," SP Meena said.
According to the police, the accused went to the girl's school during the lunch break and allegedly told her that her father had sent him to take her home. Believing him, the child accompanied him.
Instead of taking her home, Annu allegedly took the girl to a nearby forest, where he raped her. When the child resisted and tried to raise an alarm, he allegedly strangled her to death.
Based on the information given by the accused, the police recovered the girl's body.
“Our investigators and prosecutors will work for the sternest possible punishment for the arrested man. We’ll get the trial in the case fast tracked and work towards getting the harshest possible punishment,” SP-Narsinghpur said.