Protests, roadblocks and arson were witnessed in Malda district on Thursday as a nine-year-old girl who was abducted last Monday was found hacked and her body dumped in a locality here.

Police had to rush to multiple locations to bring the situation under control. The accused, a 27-year-old youth who is an uncle of the victim, has been arrested.

Sources said on January 29 evening, the student of Class V went missing during a religious function at her home.

When her family couldn’t trace her for hours, they informed the police. Cops started scanning the CCTV footage of the locality. The footage showed that the girl had left the place in a two-wheeler that a youth was riding.

According to police sources, local residents confirmed the youth’s identity as the girl's uncle.

Cops interrogated him and some other relatives of the girl. Initially, the youth tried to mislead the investigating officers and claimed he was somewhere else with his friends, police sources said.

“Later, more CCTV footage was collected and the accused was grilled further. Yesterday evening (Wednesday), he admitted that he had taken her to a godown located near a market and killed his niece,” said Pradeep Kumar Yadav, the Malda district police chief.

“He was arrested and the body of the minor girl was found at the place mentioned by him,” he added.

The youth was produced at a local court and was sent to police custody for 12 days for further interrogation.

“Primarily, it seems that he alone has murdered the girl. Even then, we are trying to find out whether he had any accomplice,” said a police officer.

The police are waiting for post-mortem reports to know whether the girl had to face any other torture before she was hacked to death.

“It seems some old enmity among the youth and the girl’s family prompted him to murder her,” the officer added.

As the news spread, protests were seen in different locations on Thursday.

A group of people ransacked the house of the accused and those of his relatives. They took out furniture and torched them.

Another group of people resorted to a sit-in demonstration for around 30 minutes. Another demonstration was organised on a highway for an hour, demanding exemplary punishment for the accused. Traffic was held up during this time.

Police have been posted near the girl’s house and near the house of the accused to maintain law and order, said sources.

“The situation is under control but we are keeping vigil. People should maintain peace,” said SP Yadav.

A group of BJP leaders demonstrated in front of a police station for a couple of hours, alleging “increase in atrocities against girls.”

On Thursday evening, students, teachers and parents of the victim's school lit candles in her memory.