Chennai, India: An 8-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu was strangled to death after she asked a neighbor to turn on their TV.

The girl was living with her single mother, who works as a daily wage worker.

The Class 3 student used to visit the neighbor’s house to watch TV, said the police.

During one such visit on Wednesday this week, the child asked the neighbor to switch on the TV while he was arguing over a matter with his father.

Raged over the family problem, the man strangled the 8-year-old girl.

He then placed the girl inside a plastic drum and covered the lid.

1 hour later, he went to a bridge near his house and dumped the body into a channel.

An eyewitness who saw the body fell into the water and called the police right away.

The body was later retrieved by the authorities from the water.

The man who killed the girl and his friend, who reportedly helped him carry the drum to the bridge, were arrested by the police.

Authorities are now trying to find out if the girl was sexually assaulted before being killed.

Tuticorin senior police officer S Jayakumar said:

We’ve filed a case of murder besides invoking sections under POCSO.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the 8-year-old girl.