KOLKATA: Following a tip from a civic volunteer, cops in East Burdwan district chased a truck for 15 km and rescued a deaf and mute woman with her hands and legs tied from the driver’s cabin on Tuesday.
Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the driver abducted the woman in her mid-30s with the intention of raping her.
While patrolling at Guskara in East Burdwan district on a motorcycle, Bikash Gorai, the civic volunteer, heard the groans of a woman coming from the cabin and asked the driver to come out. "The suspect suddenly started driving. After chasing the truck for a few metres, Gorai realised his two-wheeler would not be able to match the speed of the truck and called the local police station, giving them the registration number of the vehicle,’’ said a police officer.
Policemen patrolling the area in an SUV spotted the truck and started chasing him. "The truck was plying along a state highway and we found it difficult to overtake it because of the driver’s recklessness. He was zigzagging along the thoroughfare and whenever we attempted to overtake, the driver tried to ram into our vehicle," said an officer who was in the team.
The chase ended when both the vehicles reached an intersection. Police took advantage of the additional width of the place, overtook the truck and waylaid it. "We searched the cabin and found the woman lying on the floor behind the driver’s seat with her hands and legs tied," said Bhashkar Mukherjee, superintendent of police, East Burdwan.
Police arrested Abul Sheikh, the truck driver, and registered a suo motu case under the charges of abduction and attempt to rape. The woman was sent to a state-run hospital for medical examination.
Investigations by the police revealed that the woman was seen loitering in the area where Gorai spotted the truck. "She is not a local resident. It appears that Sheikh spotted her when no one was around and forced her into the cabin,’’ said a police officer.