Jammu, May 26 (PTI) A man was arrested on Friday for allegedly attempting to kidnap a 17-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district, police said.

The arrested accused was identified as Ashwani Singh alias Luddan of Samba's Beheri, they said.

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On Thursday, Singh intercepted the girl on Hospital Road near a highway. He snatched her mobile phone, beat her up and dragged her into his car along with an accomplice, the police said.

However, the police responded promptly to a call received from an eyewitness and managed to rescue the girl with the assistance of locals within minutes of the incident, they said.

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Several teams were deputed in different areas and raids were carried out at suspected hideouts of the accused through the night, they said.

Singh was arrested on Friday and is being interrogated, the police said.

A case has been registered under relevant provisions of law, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, they said.

(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)