A six-year-old boy was allegedly burnt to death at Azad Nagar near Patna on Tuesday despite being spotted by a group of women, who raised an alarm but failed to find much help on time.

The women, who were returning home after filling water, spotted the boy around 7am near Chiraura village, around 25km from the state capital. Police sources said the boy was still alive when the women had spotted him.

“By the time the police reached the spot, the villagers had doused the flames. The boy was rushed to a nearby health centre. But he had died by then,” an officer at Naubatpur police station said.

The boy has not been identified yet. The cops have sounded an alert at all police stations of Patna district.

“A half-burnt rope was found tied around his neck. This suggests that the boy was strangled and then burnt,” the officer added.

The police said the exact time of the incident would be known only after the post-mortem report comes. The police also found a petrol container near the spot. “The body was smelling of petrol,” the officer said.

The police suspect that the boy was taken to the site by a group of people who poured petrol on him before setting him on fire.