Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) | A man accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl here in 2001 and absconding for nearly 24 years was arrested in Chennai, police said on Thursday.

The arrested person has been identified as Muthukumar of Neeramankara, Thiruvananthapuram.

According to police, the case was registered at the Vanchiyoor police station in connection with the sexual assault of a minor girl.

Muthukumar, who worked as a tuition teacher, allegedly asked the victim to visit him during school hours.

During the school break, the girl went to his tuition centre, where she was sexually assaulted by the accused, police said.

The school teacher, noticing the girl's absence from class, informed her parents, who later found her at Muthukumar's house.

Although Muthukumar was arrested at the time, he later secured bail and absconded.

Police said the accused had been hiding in various states and never used a mobile phone.

He reportedly sent money to his family in Thiruvananthapuram by depositing cash in their bank accounts through cash deposit machines.

Recently, while reviewing pending cases, police renewed efforts to trace Muthukumar.

Investigators monitored mobile phone numbers and bank accounts of his relatives and friends, placing around 150 phone numbers and 30 accounts under surveillance, a police official said.

A suspicious phone number traced to Chennai led to the accused.

Police said Muthukumar had converted to Christianity, adopted the name Sam, and was working as a pastor in Ayanavaram.

He had married twice in Chennai and kept in touch with his relatives using public telephone booths and other people's mobile phones.

A police team led by Vanchiyoor Station House Officer Shanif HF arrested him in Chennai on Wednesday and brought him to Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

The accused was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody, police added.