A 24-year-old man was Tuesday arrested for allegedly raping and murdering a minor girl in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district, police said.

Accused Virendra Adivasi took the 12-year-old girl on his bicycle on Monday morning on the pretext of dropping her home but raped and strangled her to death en route in a jungle, Inspector C S Parishar said.

"The victim and her grandmother had come to a relative's place at the accused's village. When the minor did not reach home on Monday evening, family members began a search and also alerted the police," he said.

The police recovered the victim's body and arrested Adivasi, he added.

"He has been charged under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code," district Superintendent of Police Amit Sanghi said.

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