The accused and the victim's family lived side by side. (Representational)
An eight-year-old girl was allegedly killed by her neighbour in north Delhi's Narela area, police said on Saturday.
The police ruled out any sexual assault angle in the case and attributed the murder to the strained relationship the victim's brother had with the accused. The accused and the victim's family lived side by side.
The police received information regarding the girl's disappearance around 10 pm on Friday. She was traced after analysing CCTV footage of the main road around 150 metres from her house, a senior officer said.
The accused was tracked down around 11.30 pm and taken into police custody, he said.
While he tried to mislead the police initially, the accused disclosed upon cross-verification and sustained interrogation that he had a strained relationship with the victim's brother, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Devesh Kumar Mahla said.
He killed the victim around a kilometre from her home to take revenge against her brother. The body has been recovered and the spot inspected by crime and forensic teams, the police said.
The victim's post-mortem revealed strangulation and skull fractures and there were no visible signs of sexual assault, they added.
The police registered a case under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the missing complaint. Later, Section 302 (murder) of the IPC was added and the accused arrested, Mahla said.