A 30-year-old man was today arrested for allegedly murdering his seven-year-old neighbour as she had seen him stealing money from her house in suburban Chembur, police said.

After killing Beauty Sarkar, accused Divakar Hazara put her head inside a bucket full of water so that it would look as if the girl died because she could not breathe, police said.

According to Tilak Nagar Police, yesterday afternoon, Hazara entered Beauty's house near the Noorani Masjid in Chembur when nobody was there and was searching for money.

But Beauty returned and saw him. Scared, Hazara thought she would report the incident to her parents and he strangled her to death.

He then tried to make it look as if the girl died because she could not breathe as her head was in a bucket filled with water. He then walked away with the money that he had found in the house.

When Beauty's mother returned, she found her dead.

The autopsy revealed that she had been strangulated, police said.

Police picked up Hazara on suspicion and he confessed to the murder.