Kamal Ghorui
KOLKATA: A 20-year-old woman was allegedly forced into a car by a friend, molested, assaulted, and then kicked out of the moving vehicle on Diamond Harbour Road in Behala on Saturday night.The 18-year-old friend initially fled the spot after throwing the woman out but was intercepted by a team of cops who chased the car for more than 2km. They have seized the vehicle and have arrested the accused, Arnab Shaw.
According to the woman, the ordeal began around 5.30 pm when the resident of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road (East) in Haridevpur was allegedly picked up in a car by Shaw and they began to argue over something. The matter soon escalated, she alleged, into physical violence inside the moving vehicle.In her statement to police, the woman claimed that Shaw wrongfully confined her inside the car while it travelled between Bagir Khal and Behala Chowrasta along Diamond Harbour Road. She said he assaulted her with fists, blows and kicks, hurled filthy abuses at her with the intent to insult her modesty, and threatened her with dire consequences.The woman further alleged that she was kicked out of the car at Behala Chowrasta, a busy stretch of road during peak evening hours.The incident came to cops’ attention around 8 pm when a traffic sergeant spotted the woman. He immediately alerted other officers who intercepted the vehicle at the crossing of Diamond Harbour Road and Banamali Naskar Road. Cops arrested Shaw, who was at the wheel, and seized the car before handing them over to Behala Police Station.Shortly afterwards, the woman arrived at the police station with her father and other family members, and her father lodged a written complaint. Shaw was produced in an Alipore court on Sunday, where he was granted bail on multiple conditions, cops said.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
