Kochi, May 23 -- A four-year-old girl, who drowned after being thrown into a river allegedly by her mother earlier this week, suffered repeated sexual abuse by her paternal uncle, Kerala police said on Thursday.

The evidence of alleged sexual abuse, in the form of injuries to the minor's private parts, came out in the autopsy of the body which was fished out from the Chalakudy river in Ernakulam district early Tuesday morning, said police.

An officer at the Puthencruz police station confirmed that the younger brother of the victim's father was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday.

"The accused's arrest was recorded on Thursday, after hours of questioning ...