A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh by a man, who was recently released from jail after spending six months there on the charge of molesting the minor's aunt, police said on Friday.
The incident took place on Thursday evening in the area located under the Sabalgarh police station limits, they said.
The accused, identified as Bunty Rajak (36), was arrested for the offence, Sabalgarh police station in-charge Narendra Sharma said.
"The five-year-old Dalit girl disappeared on Thursday evening. Her family members failed to find her anywhere in the village, following which they started searching her on the outskirts. They found her lying in a pool of blood in a farm," he said.
On being informed, a police team reached the spot and launched a probe. During the investigation, the accused was arrested from the village, he added.
"Rajak confessed to his crime and he was booked for the rape and murder of the girl. Relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were also slapped against him," the official said.
According to the victim's family members, he might have committed the crime to settle an old score, he said.
Enraged over the rape and murder of the girl, the villagers tried to damage the accused's house, which led to tension in the village.
The victim's family members and other villagers staged a road blockade on Friday to demand capital punishment for the accused, the official said.
"The accused had spent six months in jail for molesting the victim's aunt and returned to the village about 10 days back only," Sharma said.
