Panaji, Dec 14 (IANS): A German woman tourist has accused an auto-rickshaw driver of sexually assaulting her while she was returning to her hotel from a restaurant in south Goa, police said Saturday. The accused has been arrested.

The victim said in her complaint, registered Friday, that the alleged sexual assault occurred on early Dec 6, while she was returning from a restaurant in Agonda village, 80 km from here.

The accused Chetan Namshikar, 22, was arrested subsequently, a police spokesperson said.

The victim had left the Leopard Valley Restaurant at Agonda and at 2.30 a.m. hailed Namshikar's rickshaw while heading back to her hotel in the same beach village.

"The rickshaw driver instead of dropping her home abducted her by intentionally taking rickshaw off the route. When the complainant suggested the right route, he continued to drive on till he reached a nearby wooded area and stopped," police said.

Namshikar then sexually assaulted her by pulling her out of the rickshaw and forcing himself upon her after pinning her against a wall.

She however, managed to escape from his clutches.

The assault comes at a time when police had promised to start a verification drive of all taxi drivers in the state. The drive however has not begun yet.