Kozhikode: Four Uttar Pradesh natives were arrested from Kerala's Kozhikode district on Saturday on charges of raping a 16-year-old girl whom they met on a train.

The four are Ikarar Alam (18), Ajaj (25), Shakeel Shah (42), and Irshad. The last two are accomplices in the crime as per preliminary investigation.

The girl was on her way to Chennai when she met the four. She decided to travel with them to Kozhikode as she became close to one of them.

In Kozhikode, she stayed with her new-found lover.

The next day, the four men made their way to the railway station hoping that the girl would continue her journey onward to Chennai, but the girl protested. The quarrel attracted officers of the Railway Protection Force who took them all into custody. During the interrogation that ensued, the details of the crime emerged.

The Force handed the four to Kasaba police.

In her statement, the girl alleged that she was abused on the pretext of marriage.

The police soon learned from their Uttar Pradesh counterparts of a person-missing case lodged at Birno police station in Ghazipur district, near Varanasi.

The missing person has been identified as this girl.

Further action will be taken after the police has spoken to the girl's relatives as well.