Police in a drive arrested the prime accused in connection with the death of a seven-year-old girl, who was rescued with her throat slit from a remote hilly area of Sitakunda Botanical Garden and Eco Park, from Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram district on Tuesday.

The arrestee was identified as Babu Sheikh of Kumira area in Sitakunda upazila.

Shakila Zahan, additional superintendent of Chattogram police (Sitakunda circle), said after citing the CCTV footage of the area, police identified Babu Sheikh and arrested him.

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The girl, identified as Jannatul Ira, breathed her last early Tuesday while undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital.

Victim’s mother filed a case over abduction and attempted murder on Sunday night and it will now be converted into a murder case, said ASP Shakila Zahan.

Police said the girl was found with her throat slit in a deep hilly area of the eco park on Monday morning.

Workers engaged in renovation work on the Chandranath Temple road first spotted her lying in a bloodied condition.

She was rescued with the help of locals and taken to Sitakunda Upazila Health Complex before being shifted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital as her condition deteriorated.

Hospital Director Brig Gen Taslim Uddin said the girl underwent throat surgery on Monday night. As her condition worsened, she was moved to the ICU, where she died early Tuesday.

He said it would be confirmed after medical tests whether the child had been sexually assaulted.

Mohammad Sujan, uncle of the victim, said Jannatul was shifted to a ward after surgery but developed breathing complications on Monday night.

Doctors later found that a device placed in her throat had become blocked. Due to delays in arranging necessary equipment, she was taken to the ICU, where doctors declared her dead in the early hours.

The body was sent to the hospital morgue around 11am for autopsy, he added.