Jagatsinghpur: Police on Thursday arrested a person for allegedly murdering a nine-year-old girl after raping her at Gadaharishpur village on Wednesday.

A group of firewood collectors found the girl's maimed body in a forested area on Wednesday.

The police said the accused, Kalia Manna, had confessed to the crime.

Sub-divisional police officer Siba Charan Mallick said Manna had committed the crime under the influence of alcohol.

The man was a resident of Gadaharishpur village, where the girl lived as well. Since the girl knew him and would be able to identify him later, he strangulated her to death.

On Wednesday, chief minister Naveen Patnaik directed the police to arrest the culprit at the earliest.