Uppinangady : The Dakshina Kannada police, in a swift move on Sunday, arrested a 30-year-old labourer accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old in a forest area near Koila farm in Kadaba police station limits on Saturday.

Similar to the incident reported in Byndoor police limits on July 17, 30-year-old Shekar K. is said to have followed the 16-year-old girl while she was walking back home on a 3-km path through the forest.

Superintendent of Police Sharanappa S.D. told reporters that the accused dragged the girl, a ninth standard student of a government school in Uppinangady, into a bushy area and raped her around 1 p.m. “When he sensed movement of people, the accused ran away,” he added.

The girl came to the Kadaba police station with her parents and filed a complaint. To identify the accused, the police took from the victim details regarding the physical features of the accused. Based on this description, different teams, including policemen who have worked in the area, were formed to arrest the accused. “Some clinching description led us to zero in on the accused, who was staying around 3 km away from the place of assault,” Mr. Sharanappa said and added that the accused had on earlier occasions too followed the girl who, on week days, used to return home with her elder sister. “He attacked her on Saturday when she was alone,” he said.

Mr. Sharanappa said that the accused had on Saturday worked in a farm for three hours in the morning. After assaulting the girl, he reportedly returned to work on the farm, he said.

The accused, a first-time offender, has been booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The police subjected the accused to medical examination. The police said that they are arranging counselling for the victim. Her statement about the assault would be recorded by a judicial magistrate on Monday.