Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 6 (IANS): A 16-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped and then forced to consume poison by the accused which resulted in her death.

The accused, a 19-year-old student, her senior in the same school, has been arrested.

The incident took place two days ago. The girl had gone missing from her class and was later found in an unconscious state in an agriculture field on the outskirts of her village.

The family rushed her to a hospital where she died.

Saharanpur Superintendent of Police (city) Rajesh Kumar said, "We have booked the accused on charges of rape, murder and other relevant sections of the IPC. The accused has been arrested and sent to jail."

The girl's parents told police that the accused lured her out of the school on the pretext of buying her presents. Her brother, who first called the police helpline, said his sister had left home for school as she had an exam. A teacher contacted her parents after realising that she was not in class, but her bag was on the desk.

"We got worried and called the police and then started searching for her. We found her lying in a semi-conscious state in a field near her school. When I asked her what had happened, she said that a senior student of her school took her to a hotel room, raped her and forced her to consume poison," a relative of the girl said.

When the girl's cousin called, the accused abused the former and said that he had dumped the girl in the field and that he could 'take her from there'.