Hoshangabad, December 27: A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped and strangulated to death in Madhya Pradesh's Hoshangabad district, police said on Monday. The girl's body was on Saturday found wrapped in a cloth on the roof of her house in Sohagpur area, located about 50 km from the district headquarters, Sohagpur police station's inspector Vikram Rajak said.

A preliminary autopsy report released on Sunday night suggested she was raped and then strangulated to death, he said. The police have picked up a person living in the victim's neighbourhood and he is being questioned, the official said.

The girl went missing around 3 pm on Saturday. Her family members searched for her and after being unable to finding her in their village, they lodged a police complaint, he said. Karnataka Horror: 17-Year-Old Girl Gang Raped by Minors in Dharwad, 6 Taken to Custody.

The family members later checked the roof of their house and found the body, the official said. The police have registered a case against the unidentified culprit under sections for rape and murder as well as relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he added.