A 14-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly abducted from her house, gang-raped and killed in Muzaffarpur district, marking a new low in the deteriorating law and order situation in Bihar.

The girl, a Class IX dropout, was forcibly taken away on Sunday night from her house in Paroo police station area in the presence of her parents. Her body was found in a semi-naked condition in a pond on Monday. Her mouth was gagged and there were several injuries and bloodstains on her body.

“Five persons, including a person called Sanjay Rai, abducted my daughter on Sunday night threatening to rape her. We could do nothing out of fear. We found her body next morning in a pond outside our village,” the girl’s mother told reporters.

The woman said Rai, who was already married, had been harassing her daughter to get married to him. “He threatened to kill her when we refused,” she said.

The angry villagers have warned of launching a demonstration at the Paroo police station and resorting to road blockades if the culprits were not arrested soon.

An FIR has been registered against the five accused.

“Injuries from a sharp weapon have been found on the dead girl’s neck, head and palms. We have collected evidence with the help of a forensic team and the dog squad. A khurpi (small gardening spade) used in the murder has been recovered. Raids are being conducted to arrest the accused,” Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar said.

The police said they would not be able to confirm the gang rape till they received the post-mortem report.