A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped in Mumbai by a man she met through social media, police said on Thursday.

The Vakola police station has filed a charge of kidnapping and rape of the minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) against the 21-year-old man. He was arrested from Goregaon, where he lives.

According to police sources, the accused, who works in a hotel, and the victim had spoken to each other on social media and subsequently decided to meet.

The accused took the victim to a place in Andheri where he raped her. Later on August 15, he took her to Gujarat and said he would take her to a village. The charge sheet states that the accused raped her three more times in Gujarat.

When the girl did not return home after a long time on August 15, the family started looking for her but could not find her. After a few days, the girl returned home alone.

After her return, she remained calm and when her family questioned her, she recounted the ordeal she had endured.

The family identified the accused through photos from his Instagram account. They then took the victim to the nearest police station and informed the police about the incident.

This happened amid massive protests against the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls by the school sweeper in Badlapur in the Thane district of Maharashtra.

At least 17 city police officials and eight railway police officers were injured in stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur during the protests on Tuesday.

The school where the incident took place belongs to a close relative of a BJP leader from Badlapur, sources said.