Azamgarh, Oct 19 (IANS): An eight-year-old girl was raped and then strangulated allegedly by her 22-year-old neighbour in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district.

The accused Laxman has been arrested.

Azamgarh SP Anurag Arya said that during preliminary investigation, the police found that the accused, who lives about 100 metres away from the residence of the minor girl in the village, had taken her to an isolated place on the pretext of giving toffees. After raping the minor girl, the accused strangled her.

During investigation, it was found that Laxman, who works at a local flour mill, is a drug addict, he said.

When the girl did not return home, her family members started searching for her and her body was found in a secluded area.

A police team, led by DIG Azamgarh range Akhilesh Kumar and the SP, reached the spot along with forensic experts to investigate the incident.

"We are waiting for the post mortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death," the SP said.