A Polish man has been arrested after allegedly imprisoning and raping his daughter and fathering her children, in a case that bears similarities to that of Austrian incest father Josef Fritzl.

It is alleged that the man, known only as Krzysztof B. and dubbed the ‘Polish Fritzl’, had held his 21-year-old daughter Alicja B. captive since 2002. He is also alleged to have raped her and forced her to give up her two sons for adoption.

Police are now searching for the boys, aged three and 22 months, to determine via DNA samples if the accused man is their father.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the situation a “tragedy” and said he would push for a law to require incorrigible paedophiles to be chemically castrated.

“I would like Poland to introduce chemical castration not on request but as an element of the court sentence,” Mr Tusk said. “I don't think that protection of human rights would apply to these kind of occurrences.”

Josef Fritzl kept his daughter Elisabeth captive in a purpose-built dungeon below his home for 24 years, fathering seven children with her before she was rescued by police in April. His trial is expected to take place later this year.

Unlike Elisabeth Fritzl, who had not seen daylight for over two decades, Alicja B. was seen outside the family home - but only occasionally. She was spotted attending church with her parents and 11-year-old brother, walking to nearby shops in the village of Grodzisk where they had recently moved and she was also allowed to go to hospital where she gave birth to her sons.

She was quoted in a national newspaper saying her father, 45, had begun raping her when she was 15. She said she was repeatedly tied up in a locked room with no door handles and described her ordeal as “horrific”.

Police arrested the man on Friday after his wife and daughter came forward.

Now 21, Alicja B. said: “When I saw him in handcuffs I sighed with relief”.

Her mother, known as Teresa B, told a TV station that the accused man used to order her to watch television whenever he went into the girl's room, closed it and took out the door handle.

“My daughter was frightened and did not want to talk about it,” said the mother, who claimed she learned the facts about her daughter’s abuse when she read her diary.

Teresa B. said the man beat her and her daughter when they asked that he stop the abuse: “He intimidated us; he threatened that my daughter will be dead, that he will destroy us all, if anyone learned about it.”

Adam Kozub, a spokesman for the investigating prosecutors, said they had questioned the man and his brother, who is also a suspect in the case.

“It is a very disturbing story, but also a very delicate one because the victim is further suffering from the huge interest in her story,” Mr Kozub said.

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