Pramod Manjhi, the victim's father, said his daughter was suffering from diarrhoea and was advised to take her to a hospital in Jehanabad.

"We faced several obstructions on our way to the town. Our autorickshaw was stopped at many places which resulted in delay and led to her condition to deteriorate. She died before we reached," Manjhi, a Dalit villager from Belaganj, said.

However, Jehanabad Sub-Divisional Officer Paritosh Kumar refuted Manjhi's claims, saying: "The child was seriously ill and her father delayed her hospitalisation."

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United leaders attacked the opposition Congress and its ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for the girl's death due to their shutdown called against fuel price hike.

The shutdown is being supported by the RJD, Left Parties, Hindustani Awam Morcha and Jan Adhikar Party.