The body of a 10-year-old girl was recovered from a sugarcane field in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district on Thursday morning, after which her uncle was arrested for alleged rape and murder, a police official said.

The girl, whose family hails from Bihar, had gone missing on Wednesday evening and her parents had filed a missing person complaint some time later, the official said.

"The minor's body was spotted in the morning by local residents in a sugarcane field just 800 metres away from her home in Shiye village under Karvir taluka. It has been established her uncle sexually assaulted the girl and then strangled her. The accused has confessed during interrogation," the official said.

"Our probe has found he lied to girl's mother when she inquired about the child's absence on Wednesday evening. He told her the girl had left the house in anger after he scolded her. The accused had left home before the deceased girl's father arrived on Wednesday night and came back only this morning," the official said.

He raped and murdered the girl and will be produced in the court on Friday, Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit said.

According to the police, the girl's parents work in an industrial unit in the Shiroli MIDC area.

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, said the police suspect the girl was sexually assaulted before being killed.

Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said, "The girl's family is from Bihar. As per primary information, her uncle beat her up on Wednesday afternoon and she left home. A local police station received a complaint at around 10 pm on Wednesday that the girl was missing. Her body was found this morning and the police suspect sexual assault on the girl. The police have detained some suspects." "We will go to the bottom of this case and the perpetrators will face strict action. We will provide all possible help to the family," Fadnavis said.

The incident comes days after two minor girls were sexually abused by an attendant in a school in Badlapur town of Thane district.

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