Police is questioning some other suspects in the case (Representational)
Two minor girls were allegedly sexually and physically abused in Jharkhand's Chatra district, police said on Friday.
One girl died of her injuries and the other girl is serious. One accused has been arrested over the incident, a police officer said.
The incident occurred when two girls, both aged 10, and an eight-year-old boy had gone to Kirigada forest under Piparwar police station limits on Wednesday to collect firewood, he said.
However, when the three children did not return till late afternoon, family members and villagers reported the matter to the police, who launched a search for them.
The eight-year-old boy was found severely injured due and was admitted to a hospital in Ranchi, the officer said.
The boy told investigators that the accused had beaten the three children and kidnapped the two girls deeper into the forest, he said.
Upon further search, police found the two girls on Thursday and admitted them to a primary healthcare centre, where one of them was declared dead and the other referred to RIMS, the officer said.
"Prima facie, it appears to be a case of sexual abuse and murder," he said, adding that an FIR has been lodged in this connection.
Police is questioning some other suspects in the case, he added.