Six boys from Kolhapur in Maharashtra were rescued from the custody of a British national in Panaji last month by Panaji police with the help of a local NGO.

A senior Goa police officer told PTI on condition of anonymity that six children were rescued from the custody of the British national on March 16 and that a detailed inquiry into the matter is on.

According to police, when the raid was conducted at the place of the British national, he did not possess valid documents related to his stay in the country.

The man has been charged under section 8 of Goa Children's Act, the officer said.

The boys, aged between 6 and 16 years, belong to Kolhapur and some of them are children of sex workers, Arun Pandey of NGO Anyay Rahit Zindagi (ARZ), which tipped off the police on the illegal custody of children, said.

Accusing the police of acting soft on the British national, Pandey said, "These boys were supplied to the Britisher by a Kolhapur-based charity house. Police has lodged a case of illegal custody (of minors) against the man and slapped only minor charges on him."

He said the accused should have been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for human trafficking and arrested.

Pandey also demanded investigation into whether this was a case of paedophilia or if the children were sexually abused by the accused.

"Investigations are going on. We can always add other sections during the inquiry," the police officer said.