A 55-year-old school principal allegedly choked a Class 1 student to death in Gujarat's Dahod after she resisted rape, police said.
The six-year-old girl's body was found on the premises of her school in Torani village in Singvad taluka on Thursday evening, sparking panic in the area.
Police suspected the principal after the girl's mother revealed that she went to school with the principal, Govind Natt, every day.
During investigation, Natt told the police that he dropped the girl at school and went out for some work. However, the police learned that the girl never reached the school. They also found out that Natt reached the school late on the day of the child's murder.
When he was grilled, the principal confessed to the heinous crime. He said that he tried to molest the girl and when she started shouting, she smothered her to death, the police said.
When he reached the school, he left the girl's body in the vehicle and around 5 pm, he put the body behind the school building. Later, he put her school bag and shoes outside her classroom, the police added.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has slammed the state government over accused Natt's links to the BJP and the RSS, alleging that "our daughters are not safe under the BJP rule in Gujarat."
State Education Minister Kuber Dindor said it was a shameful incident for the society. "I am pained by this. We had told police to get to the bottom of this. The principal has been arrested. I condemn this incident and we will take steps to ensure such crimes are not repeated."