RAIPUR, Oct. 23 -- A 42-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Korba district, three days after she went missing, police said on Friday.

The child's body was recovered from bushes behind a poultry farm in the Rajgamar police chowki area on Thursday morning. Police said a sniffer dog helped investigators trace the suspect to his house in the Ravanbhatha locality.

In a statement, police said the girl had gone missing on the Monday evening, October 19, soon after she stepped out to buy something from a nearby grocery shop. Her father later approached the police, saying she had not returned.

The girl's father had moved with his four children to Rajgamar from Sakti district ...