Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), Oct 12 (IANS): The Meerut police have arrested a 24-year-old man for allegedly poisoning a 17-year-old girl because she was 'forcing' him to marry her.

The accused man who was arrested on Monday, has confessed to the crime.

According to reports, the victim, a student of Class 12, died on Friday last, three days after battling for life in a hospital. She had lost her vision after being given poison.

The father of the girl, a fruit vendor, had filed a police complaint against unknown persons on Wednesday.

The girl was dropped off near her home in an e-rickshaw.

Superintendent of Police Vineet Bhatnagar said, "The girl's father had told us that he had dropped her to college on Wednesday morning. "We questioned the e-rickshaw driver, tracked the girl's phone calls, scanned CCTV footage available in various intersections from where the rickshaw passed and even from around her college."

In CCTV footage, the police found the accused Suraj, talking to the girl at the gate of her college.

The police official said, "When he was arrested, the accused told police that he was having an affair with the girl who was insisting on marriage. To get rid of her, he tricked her and took her to the hotel room. He then pretended to drink poison. To save him, the girl snatched the bottle of poison and drank it herself. He then took an e-rickshaw and left her outside her own house before fleeing from the spot."

As the girl's condition worsened, she was admitted to the hospital.