Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Nov 11: Goa Police have arrested two men in connection with separate cases of alleged sexual assault involving minor girls in North and South Goa, including a three-year-old girl in Mapusa and a four-year-old girl in Canacona.

In the Mapusa case, police arrested Pundalik Gudge, a native of Dharwad district in Karnataka, who was allegedly found hiding in Panaji.

Mapusa Police Inspector Anant Gaonkar told reporters on Wednesday that the accused had allegedly taken the three-year-old girl to an abandoned building and sexually assaulted her. The incident reportedly occurred on Diwali night in Mapusa, following which police launched an investigation to trace the accused.

The arrest marks a breakthrough in the case, which had raised concerns over the safety of children in the state.

In another incident, a four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted at Shristhal village in Canacona taluka late on Tuesday night.

Police arrested a man in his mid-20s from Bihar in connection with the case soon after the incident was reported, a senior police officer told.

According to police, the accused had arrived in Goa just two days before the incident and was working at a local bakery.

The officer said the accused's identity would be disclosed later on Wednesday after the statements of the victim and her parents were recorded in the presence of an NGO representative.

Both cases are under investigation by Goa Police.