The principal of a government primary school in Gujarat’s Dahod district was arrested on Sunday for allegedly killing a six-year-old girl after she resisted his attempt to sexually abuse her, reported The Indian Express quoting police officials.

The mother of the student had asked the principal to take the girl along as he was driving to the school from her village on Thursday, the police said.

The police said that the principal had confessed to the crime after he was questioned about the girl’s absence from the school that day and his own time of leaving the premises.

He allegedly disposed of the body in the school’s backyard after the students and staff had left, having concealed it in his car throughout the day.

Rajdeepsinh Zala, the Dahod superintendent of police, said that the police had recorded testimonies of the girl’s classmates, teachers and residents of the area. The investigation revealed that the child was last seen with the school principal, he said.

“Her mother had seen her off at their village home at around 10.20 am that morning and entrusted her to the principal, who was to take her along to the school in his vehicle…” the police official was quoted as saying. “However, from the statements of other students and teachers, we ascertained that the child did not attend school on Thursday.”

The principal had initially claimed that he had dropped the girl off at the school and that he was “unaware” of the student’s whereabouts, Zala said.

The police said that the principal had attempted to mislead the investigation by claiming he had received a phone call in the evening from the class teacher, informing him that the student was missing.

A technical investigation into his mobile phone location was launched after his claims failed to convince the authorities. The probe revealed that the principal had taken “longer than usual” to reach the school, police said.

“During interrogation, he confessed that he had attempted to force himself upon the victim on the way to school in his car,” The Indian Express quoted Zala as saying. “However, the girl had resisted and began screaming. To silence the girl, he smothered her…”

The police officer added that the principal placed the girl’s footwear outside a classroom and left her bag inside.

However, the teachers and the classmates had informed the police that the girl was absent from the classes and that her bag or footwear were not in the classroom throughout the day.

One of the students had claimed to have seen the girl “sleeping in the principal’s car” when the school dispersed, the police said.