Man 'jokingly' slaps 3-year-old niece, she dies; police find burnt body near Mumbai

A man was arrested for allegedly killing his three-year-old niece and disposing of her body in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said.

The girl went missing on November 18. She was found dead near Mumbai in Ulhasnagar on Thursday, a police official said.

She had gone missing from near her house in Prem Nagar, he added.

"After she went missing, a kidnapping case was registered on the complaint of her mother. The child's body was found today some distance away from Hill Line police station. After receiving the post mortem report, further action will take place," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IV) Sachin Gore.

Reports say, the accused, during interrogation, confessed to the crime but claimed that he had no intention to kill her, adding that "he was playing with her and jokingly slapped her after which she collided with a kitchen slab and died".

In panic, he burnt the body and threw it in bushes near Mumbai's Ulhasnagar.

With PTI inputs