Agartala, Apr 27 (IANS): A five-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Tripura, triggering violent protests by the locals. Police later arrested the culprit, officials said here Saturday.

"The five-year-old went missing Thursday night at a religious function at Karbook in southern Tripura. Police recovered her body from the septic tank of a latrine Saturday morning, after interrogating the arrested youth," a police spokesman told reporters.

The police said that the accused Sanjit Saha, 28, confessed that he raped the girl before strangling her to death. He said he dumped the body in the septic tank of a school's toilet.

The rape and subsequent murder of the girl triggered massive protests in the area. Scores of locals gathered at the victim's house and at Natun Bazar police station to protest the brutal crime.

Senior police and civil officials rushed to the area, 125 km south of the state capital, to control the situation.