A 13-year-old Dalit girl has been allegedly raped by a man who then tried to bury her alive in a pit in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday evening following which the 35-year-old accused was arrested, and the girl, whose condition is serious, has been referred to a hospital at Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra, they said.

The girl had gone to a farm in a village under Ghodadongri police station area to switch off a motor and on finding her alone, the accused allegedly raped her, Betul Superintendent of Police Simala Prasad said.