The police have picked up nine people for questioning in the case (Representational)
The body of a 5-year-old girl, reported missing since Sunday, was recovered last night from the Singlu river in Assam's Charaideo district, the police said.
Items used during Kali Puja, including a red cloth with ashes, were also found near the body on the riverbank, leading the police to suspect it to be a case of human sacrifice.
The girl was allegedly kidnapped from her house in a tea estate while she was sleeping, following which her eldest sister filed a complaint with the police, reported news agency PTI.
The police have picked up nine people for questioning in connection with the case and detained two so far.
"We have picked up nine persons for interrogation. Right now, we can't say for sure it was a human sacrifice case. We have sent the body for an autopsy. We have found some puja rituals near the dead body of the girl," police officer Sudhakar Singh told NDTV.
Superstitions and black magic have been prevalent in the state's Adivasi area, sources told NDTV. Most of the people are not educated and they fall on such ill practices, they added.
Earlier, cases of human sacrifice have been reported from Assam, mostly, from the tea belt areas.
In 2016, a 4-year-old girl went missing from her house in the Charaideo district, and her body was later found near the Ratanpur tea estate.
(With inputs from PTI)