JAMMU: Kathua police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested a man, accused of raping a three-year-old, within 12 hours. The claims comes after the police in Kathua was criticised for its probe into gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old Bakarwal girl in the district in January 2018.After receiving a complaint about the rape of the minor girl on March 10, the police immediately swung into action and constituted various teams to arrest the accused. Drones and sniffer dogs were also used in the search.An alert was sounded in adjoining Samba district and the neighbouring state of Punjab and photographs of the accused, identified as a Bihar resident, were shared with cops in other areas and circulated at all railway stations and bus stands. “Late on Tuesday, police succeeded in arresting the absconding accused from the neighbouring area of Maggar Khad in Kathua with help of intelligence gathered,” said a spokesperson, who also gave credit to the efforts made by the Gujjar community.A case under POCSO Act has been registered at Lakhanpur police station against the accused. “Further investigation is in progress and is being carried out by the SHO under the close supervision of senior officers,” the spokesperson added.