Ghaziabad, Jan. 15 -- The father and stepmother of a seven-year-old girl in Ghaziabad have been formally arrested for allegedly beating the child to death at their home in the Dasna area, officials said on Wednesday, adding that her father had punched her several times, while her stepmother had beat her with a stick.

On Monday, the couple, identified as Mohammad Akram, a vendor, and his wife, Nisha, "confessed" to assaulting the girl late Sunday night. They later took the unconscious girl to a hospital, where she was declared dead. They were detained on the day and brought in for questioning on Tuesday, when the family of the girl's biological mother filed a police complaint.

Based on the complaint, the couple was arrested on Wednesday ...