A man was arrested Friday in Odisha's Cuttack district for the alleged rape and murder of a 25-year-old woman earlier in the week, police said.
Accused Durga Prasad Das, 32, allegedly intercepted the woman on her way back home to Tarito village, 40 km from Bhubaneswar, Sunday evening.
He forcibly took her to a secluded place and raped her. When she protested, he hit her with a stone killing her, Cuttack Superintendent of Police (rural) Gurudash Kundu told IANS.
Das dumped the body in a nearby canal.
The body of the woman was spotted a day later by her relatives. Her father had also filed a missing complaint with the police.
According to police, the accused and the victim were from the same village and were known to each other. Das had proposed to the girl a number of times but she always rejected him.
Police said they were investigating whether any other person was involved in the crime.