A 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed and the body dumped in an unused biogas tank in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Sunday.
After a foul smell emanated from the tank located underground in Barhi area, around 80 km from here, a farmer looked into it on Saturday and spotted the body, Katni's Additional Superintendent of Police Sandeep Mishra said.
"The post-mortem report confirmed the girl was raped and throttled to death before the body was dumped," he said.
The girl went out of her house on Wednesday with her uncle, who resided in their neighbourhood in the district, but did not return home.
When her parents enquired, her uncle told them he thought that she had returned home, the police official said.
The family members then searched for the minor and after being unable to find her, they lodged a police complaint the next day.
Mishra said they were investigating the case from all angles to trace the culprit.
As of now, a case has been registered against the unidentified accused under Indian Penal Code sections for rape, killing and other offences, as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), he added.