Taxi driver held for rape of mentally challenged woman

Kolkata: A taxi driver has been arrested on the city's southern outskirts in connection with the alleged abduction and rape of a shelter home inmate, a senior police officer said on Sunday.

The accused was nabbed from Narendrapur in South 24 Parganas district during a raid on Saturday night, he said.

In her complaint, the 36-year-old woman -- a resident of a shelter home for the mentally challenged in Panchasayar area of the city -- claimed that she had stepped out for a stroll on Monday night when a group of men allegedly forced her into their car and took turns to rape her.

The woman also said that she was beaten up and pushed out of the vehicle near Sonarpur area at dawn.

Police said she was spotted lying on the road by locals, who then helped her buy a train ticket to reach her relative's place in Gariahat.

"The accused taxi driver confessed to the crime following a prolonged interrogation. We are trying to ascertain if there was anyone else with him that night. His taxi has also been seized," the senior officer said.

According to the officer, circumstantial evidence did not suggest that the woman was gangraped.

"She has serious psychological problems There is no evidence that she was forcibly abducted. The woman is sexually active but there is no sign of gang rape," he said.

A senior NCW member had spoken to the victim on Friday and met senior officers of the Kolkata Police at its Lalbazar headquarters in connection with the case.

West Bengal Commission of Women chairperson Leena Gangopadhyay said a report was being prepared in the case based on the findings of the organisation.