Kidnapped woman found dumped

Santi Tigga at the Malbazar subdivisional hospital on Friday. Picture by Biplab Basak

TT, May 10: A woman railway employee was abducted from Chulsa in Jalpaiguri district yesterday evening while she was returning home after duty.

However, Santi Tigga, the only woman jawan at Territorial Army of the railways and a recipient of an award from the President for her performance, was found blindfolded with her legs tied up at a forest village, a few kilometres from the place where she had been abducted.

Police are yet to establish the motive behind the abduction and they are puzzled by a four-page letter recovered from Tigga’s pocket. The letter written in Bengali says money raised by various chit fund companies should be repaid in 36 hours from the time of receiving the letter or else the woman would not return.

Sources said Tigga had no links with any money mobilising agencies.

The 34-year-old, who works as a pointsman at Satbhaiya railway crossing in Chulsa, was on her way to the local market after her duty. She was going to buy a birthday gift in uniform for a neighbour’s child when an SUV came and stopped beside her around 6pm.

“Three-four youths jumped out of the vehicle and pulled me inside. Soon, my hands and legs were tied and I was blindfolded. I had no idea where they were taking me,” said Tigga, who is a widow and the mother of a boy.

This morning, Tigga was spotted at Deopanibusty, located next to the Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary and around 5km from the spot of the abduction, by the local people.

“She was blindfolded and her limbs were tied up. It seems that she was also sedated. We rushed her to the station, boarded a train and admitted her to the subdivisional hospital in Malbazar,” said a resident.

The people also found a letter addressed to Jalapiguri district magistrate in her pocket. The letter written on a plain paper was handed over to police. “The letter says that within 15 minutes of receiving it, the DM should tell the chief minister and the President of India to make arrangements to repay the investments in different chit fund companies in the state. The letter warned that if the money was not repaid within the next 36 hours, Tigga would not return,” said a source who read the latter.

Tigga was released from the hospital later in the afternoon and filed a complaint with police in Metelli.

“We are trying to find out who wrote the letter and the intention behind it. Investigations are on. The police are also trying to obtain information on the abductors and will also talk to Tigga,” said James Kuzur, the additional superintendent of police of Jalpaiguri.

Sources said the police couldn’t question Tigga as she was in a daze.

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, TNN | May 11, 2013 JALPAIGURI: Shanti Tigga, the country's first woman jawan, was allegedly abducted from her post at Chalsa railway station on Thursday evening and rescued early on Friday. 

Tigga, a jawan with the 969 Railway Engineer Regiment of the Territorial Army, was allegedly kidnapped by unknown persons at 8.30pm on Thursday as she was going to the local bazaar. At 6.30am on Friday, the driver of the Down Mahananda Link Express spotted her tied to a post beside the railway track at Deopani village. 

On Friday morning, she was rescued on Friday morning at around 6.60 am by the driver of the Down Mahananda Link Express who had stopped the train on seeing a woman (he had not recognised the lady then) tied up with a tower by the railway track at Deopani village near Mahabari Bustee under Metialli police station. The driver dropped her at Chalsa station, not knowing that she was Shanti Tigga. 

An anonymous proclamation written in Bengali has been recovered from Tigga, which says that if the government fails to take steps against chit fund operators within 24 hours, India's first woman jawan would be killed. 

Tigga could not specify the place she had been taken. She, however, said that the kidnappers had not hurt her or tortured her in any way. 

"Soon after they dragged me in their vehicle, they blindfolded me. So, I had no way of knowing where they took me. They kept me tied up all night and sometime early on Friday, they tied me to a watchtower and left," she told reporters. 

Although the proclamation recovered from her features the chit fund issue, Tigga said none of the kidnappers spoke about it in her presence. 

Not taking any chances, the police have shifted Tigga to a safe and secret location. An inquiry has been initiated at the top level to identify and nab the kidnappers, said a source in the police. 

"We are taking the matter very seriously. Tigga has been provided with security," said Jalpaiguri SP Amit P Javalgi. Tigga had joined the railways in 2005 on compensatory grounds after her husband passed away. 

She later learnt about the Territorial Army and volunteered for it. Until she got through, she had no idea about her pioneering role.