Man Admits To Brutally Raping, Drowning 4-Year-Old Neighbor; Body Found In Rice Field

A man from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was arrested Wednesday after he was accused of raping and drowning a 4-year-old girl.

The victim's body was found in a paddy field near her house in Aligarh's Gonda area Monday after she went missing the day before, newspaper The Times of India reported.

Police were informed of the disappearance after her family failed to locate her, but authorities were also initially unable to trace her whereabouts before her body was discovered.

The victim's family alleged she had been raped before being murdered as her legs were tied with a rope and the clothes covering her lower body were missing. The clothes were later recovered near the crime scene.

The alleged killer — a 24-year-old neighbor known to the girl's family who works as a mason — absconded but was arrested Wednesday. He later told police during an interrogation that he took the minor victim to a nearby shop on the pretext of buying a "samosa" after he saw her playing outside his home.

The unnamed man, who was intoxicated at the time, proceeded to assault the girl and drowned her in a water-filled pit due to his fears of being caught, according to the report. He then ran away from the village following the incident.

A first information report has been registered against the man under sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence and false information) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as sections 5 and 6 of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act.

Police officials have ordered the man to be booked under provisions of India's National Security Act.

Authorities also reportedly booked 80 people for creating a "ruckus" when police retrieved the victim's body. They were booked under various sections of the IPC, including section 307 (attempt to commit murder).

Around 20 of the 80 booked individuals have been identified, and four among them were remanded to judicial custody Wednesday.

An investigation into the incident is still ongoing, according to rural superintendent of police Shubham Patel.

The victim's identity was not revealed to protect her privacy in accordance with the Supreme Court's directives on cases related to sexual assault.