Two men accused of abducting and raping two girls in separate cases were held in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district on Friday, after evading arrest for nearly a year, police said.

Keshiv Ahirwar from Madhya Pradesh and Piyar Chand from Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district were arrested from the Vijaypur and Ramgarh areas, a police official said.

He said a police team succeeded in arresting Ahirwar, who was booked in a case registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act last year.

The case involves allegations of kidnapping and penetrative sexual assault on a minor, the official said.

Chand, who was also wanted for the kidnapping and rape of a minor, was arrested by another police party from Ramgarh, he added.

The official said proceedings for trial in absentia were already initiated against both accused, who were produced before a local court that sent them to the Kathua District Jail.