A seven-year-old girl was killed and beheaded allegedly by a neighbour at a residence in Dhaka’s Pallabi area this morning, police said.

The incident took place around 9:00am, said Hasan Basir, officer-in-charge of Pallabi Police Station.

Quoting locals, Emdadul Haque, inspector (investigation) of the same police station, said preliminary allegations have been made against a tenant of a neighbouring flat named Sohel, 32, over the killing. However, the motive behind the incident could not yet be confirmed.

The Criminal Investigation Department and other agencies visited the scene after being informed of the incident.

Police officials said efforts are underway to arrest the suspect and recover the missing body part, adding that a woman has been detained for interrogation.