19-year-old man held in Maharashtra for 'kidnapping' teenage girl from Goa

Panaji, Sep 26 (PTI) The Goa police have arrested a 19-year-old man from Kankavli in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district for allegedly kidnapping a teenage girl from neighbouring North Goa, officials said.

The accused was arrested on Thursday, they said.

The 15-year-old victim, a native of Kankumbi in Karnataka, resided with her aunt at Kudchirem in Bicholim town of North Goa, where she was studying in a higher secondary school, according to the police.

North Goa's Superintendent of Police Rahul Gupta said, "On Wednesday, the girl left home and told her aunt that she was travelling to her native place. However, it was later confirmed that she had not reached Kankumbi. After that, her brother and other family members approached the police and lodged a complaint that evening." Based on the complaint, a case of kidnapping was registered against an unidentified person at the Bicholim police station, he said.

Two teams were immediately formed and dispatched to Maharashtra and Karnataka, while parallel technical surveillance and ground intelligence were used to trace the girl, the SP added.

The victim was finally traced to Kankavli in Sindhudurg and was rescued with the help of the local police, he said.

The accused was arrested on September 25 afternoon and was later brought to Goa on a transit remand.

The case was registered against the accused under section 137 (2) (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 8 of the Goa Children's Act, the official said. PTI RPS NP