Pune, June 1 (PTI) A 22-year-old man has been arrested on the charge of alleged abduction and rape of a minor girl, who had gone missing four years ago in Maharashtra's Pune district, an official said on Thursday.

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According to the police, the girl had gone missing from Manchar town in the district in March 2019 following which they had registered a case of kidnapping then.

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Last month, the accused and the girl returned to Manchar. Relatives rescued the girl from a room where she was staying with the accused, the official said.

“On May 16, the relatives of the girl produced her at the police station. The next day, (accused) Javed Shaikh was arrested. He is currently in judicial custody,” police said in a release.

Police have registered a case against Shaikh under Indian Penal Code sections 363 (kidnapping), 376 (rape), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 344 (wrongful confinement) and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Member of Legislative Council Gopichand Padalkar claimed in a press conference that the girl was tortured. He said the girl was singed with cigarettes, forced to do some immoral work, made to eat beef, and compelled to wear a burka.

He urged the police to “go to the root” of the case.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)