COLVA: Rashid Malik, 24, from

(UP), arrested for kidnapping a minor girl, has been further slapped with

charge under Section 8 of the

and Section 8 of the Goa Children’s Act.

The medical report of the girl shows that the accused sexually assaulted her. Malik, police said, had convinced the minor to run away from home.

Police inspector (PI) Rahul Parab said that the minor’s father lodged a complaint stating that Malik, a native of UP, working at a carpentry shop near their residence, befriended his minor daughter.

Subsequently, Malik left for his village and started urging the minor to join him there. On March 5, the minor boarded a Delhi-bound train and met the accused in the national capital from where he then took her to his house in UP, police sources said.

Acting on the father’s complaint, a police team led by police sub-inspector (PSI) Francis Xavier travelled to UP and, with the assistance of

police, traced the accused and minor, and brought them to Goa.

While the girl has been handed over to her parents, the accused has been remanded to 14 days police custody.