Munnar: A jeep driver attempted to sexually assault a 16-year-old girl who went in his vehicle to an area with network coverage for taking part in online class.

The jeep driver P Sivakannan, 26, who was hiding in a tea plantation after the incident was traced after a four-hour-long search operation and taken into custody.

The plus two student's house is located at Lakshmi Estate which is 10 km from Munnar. Since there is no mobile coverage near her house, she used to go to her relative's place at Munnar for taking part in the daily online classes.

On Saturday she was alone in the jeep. When the driver attempted to sexually assault her after stopping the vehicle in an isolated place on the way, the girl raised an alarm following which he backed out.

The girl returned home without taking part in the online class and informed the parents about the incident.

Subsequently the police carried out a massive search operation tracking his mobile tower location and arrested him.