Gurugram, July 1 : A 9-year-old girl was strangled and burnt to death here allegedly by a 16-year-old neighbour in a failed theft attempt following which the accused was arrested, police said.

The victim succumbed to burn injuries on Monday, DCP (west), Karan Goyal said.

According to the police they received a call around 10.45 am that the victim was assaulted on Monday by a minor boy who resides in her neighbourhood, in a society located in Sector-107 area under the Rajendra Park police station jurisdiction.

The minor suspect visited the victim's home while the victim's mother along with her son was at the suspect's home for some work.

During his visit, the victim girl went to the toilet while the suspect minor allegedly tried to steal jewellery from the victim's home and when the victim girl caught the suspect during the act she shouted.

The suspect then allegedly pushed the girl onto the bed and strangled her before setting her on fire with the help of white naphthalene balls, an officer privy to the case said.

However, after hearing the screams of the girl the neighbours reached the spot but by then the victim had reportedly succumbed to her injuries.

"We have arrested a minor in connection with the matter. The stolen jewellery has also been recovered from outside the flat. The matter is under investigation," Goyal said.

/IANS