Protests broke out today in Subhas Nagar area of the district after a six-year-old kidnapped girl was found murdered, with her family members alleging that she was raped and dumped in a field here.

The minor's body was found this morning leading to a large-scale protest by her family and local residents who blocked the national highway here.

The victim's face was disfigured before her body was dumped, police said.

Police had to lathi-charge and fire tear-gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse agitating protesters. While dozens of people, including some policemen, were injured in the clash, several have been apprehended for indulging in violence.

The victim, a resident of Subhash Nagar, was allegedly kidnapped from a function yesterday by unidentified men. Her father was present at the function when she was kidnapped. The victim's family allege that police refused to lodge a complaint.

"The charges will be probed and necessary departmental action will be taken against any police personnel found guilty of negligence of duty," Superintendent of Police (City) Shiv Shankar Yadav said.

The SP said that the body has been sent for postmortem.