Kasaragod (Kerala) | Police on Friday arrested a 43-year-old man from Karnataka for allegedly sexually assaulting and impregnating his 13-year-old daughter in this north Kerala district, police said.

The accused, a native of Kodagu in Karnataka, had been living with his family in the Kanhangad area for several years, police said.

The crime came to light when the girl was taken to a hospital with severe back pain, where doctors discovered that she was pregnant and alerted the police, they added.

By the time police arrived at the hospital, the accused had fled. The girl later revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by her father a few months earlier but had kept silent out of fear, police said. A case was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Hosdurg police station, and he had been absconding for several days.

Police alerted locals to report his presence. On Friday, the man returned home to collect documents and a passport in an attempt to escape abroad, but was nabbed based on a tip-off, police said. The accused was produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody, they added.