A 20-year-old girl from North Dinajpur who went missing last month was found dead in Chopra block of the district on Wednesday.

The police arrested a youth, Md Rezaul Sheikh, in connection with the incident on December 29. The youth confessed he murdered her, police sources said.

On December 12, the girl had gone to a local market of the block with a relative from where she went missing.

“Initially, we thought that she must have gone to some relative’s or friend’s place. But as she didn’t return home at night, we started searching for her,” said the girl’s uncle.

Finally, her family lodged a missing diary with the police on December 15.

Police initiated a probe. After some days, her family members got a message from the girl sent from an unidentified cellphone number.

“She sent a youth’s photo, saying it was Rezaul who had abducted her and had kept her confined. We shared the photo and other details with the police,” the uncle added.

On December 29, police nabbed Rezaul. During interrogation, he revealed he promised to marry the girl but eventually changed his decision. When the girl objected, he killed her.

“He carried her body to Chopra, around 80km away from the site of the murder, and dumped it under a culvert. On Wednesday, a police team recovered the body,” said a source.

They called up the girl’s family members who came and identified her. Later, the body was sent to Islampur subdivisional hospital for post-mortem.

Police officers suspect Rezaul had an accomplice.

“It is not an easy task for someone to carry a body along a distance of 80km all by himself and dump it,” said a police officer.

The police are keeping under wraps when she was murdered and how in the interest of the probe.