Bareilly (UP) |A four-year-old girl was allegedly killed by her aunt and a 'tantrik' as part of "black magic" rituals here in a village. The duo has been arrested, officials said on Sunday.

Acting on a missing person's report filed by the girl's family, police found her body from the aunt's residence, they said.

On Saturday, Misty went missing from her home in Shikarpur Chaudhary village, following which, her family filed a complaint at Izzat Nagar police station.

The activities of Savitri, the aunt, were found to be "suspicious" when she refused to allow anyone to enter her home, police said, adding that they took the help of CCTV footage of the area.

Police raided her residence and found Misty's body hidden in a sack near a borewell.

Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya said initial investigations suggested that the murder was motivated by black magic rituals performed by Savitri and her relative Ganga Ram who is a 'tantrik'.

"The duo, believed to be involved in occult practices, allegedly sacrificed the innocent child as part of their dark rituals," the SSP said.

Police have sent the body for the post-mortem and launched a probe into the matter.