Panaji, Oct 28 (IANS) It was a tip-off from a journalist that helped police in Goa arrest Ajay Kaushal, the NRI from Britain who was fleeing a 15-year sentence for assault and kidnapping, an official said.

Kaushal, 50, who is on the most wanted list of the Lancashire constabulary, was arrested Tuesday from a hotel in the coastal resort town of Colva, 40 km from here.

Kaushal's presence in Goa was noted after the media extensively reported the death of his companion William Scott, 39, a Scottish national who was found mysteriously dead in his hotel room.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Atmaram Deshpande said that an email written by a journalist to the South Goa district SP Allen D'Sa had alerted the police about Kaushal's identity. "A member of the media informed the police," Deshpande told IANS.

The email had details of Kaushal's criminal background in Britain, which police used after corroborating information with the Lancashire police, Deshpande said, without revealing the identity of the informer.

Despite being a fugitive on the run before a Preston crown court sentenced him to 15years for kidnapping a British businessman at Burnley, Kaushal had booked himself at Colva hotel using his real identity.

"I cannot comment much about that. But Kaushal had visited Goa once before. And this time he had a visa issued from our Thailand embassy," Deshpande said.

The British embassy, he said, had been informed about Kaushal's arrest. "A team from the Lancashire police or the Interpol will be here to pick him up and take him back to the UK, where he is wanted," the official said.