The Jharkhand Police have arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly raping and murdering a five-year-old girl in the state’s Dhanbad district, PTI reported.

Dablu Modi, who lived in the same neighbourhood as the child and her family, took her to a wedding in the area, with her parents’ permission, on Saturday. However, he returned without the girl the next morning. The girl’s body was recovered from a nearby forest on Sunday.

“They remained there till late night. When her mother saw Dablu returning alone from the party, she asked him about her daughter,” a police officer told the Hindustan Times. “He was drunk and refused to reveal the whereabouts of her daughter. The victim’s mother soon lodged a missing report with the Monodih Police Station.”

Dhanbad Senior Superintendent of Police Manoj Ratan Chothe said the police arrested Modi on Saturday night and he confessed to the crime. The police have booked him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. “He was sent to judicial custody after producing him before a magistrate on Monday,” Chothe said. “We intend to take up this case on priority basis to ensure speedy trial.”