A 22-year-old woman from Delhi has alleged that a taxi driver tried to sexually assault her late on Thursday night on her way to Nainital, police said, adding that she evaded his clutches and hid throughout the night in a forest area to avoid him.
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The police registered a case against the unidentified driver and are pursuing him. The woman, a resident of Delhi, hired a taxi from Haldwani to Nainital around midnight, police officers said. They said she was traveling alone.
Talital police station house officer Manoj Neal said the woman claimed that the driver was drunk. “The woman alleged that the driver, who appeared to be intoxicated, began harassing her and attempted to sexually assault her. When she resisted, the driver allegedly assaulted her,” Niall said.
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Police said the accident occurred near Patwadhangar, about 12 km from Nainital. The driver allegedly diverted the taxi from the highway to the link road leading to the area and stopped the car.
Fearing for her life, the woman managed to escape from the car and ran into a nearby wooded area. Police said they raised the alarm, after which the accused fled the scene.
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The woman said she spent the entire night hiding near the side of the road in the wooded area, Niall said. On Friday morning, a local resident spotted her and helped her reach the police station in Nainital. Police said they registered a case and conducted an immediate search. The woman was sent to PD Pandey Hospital for medical examination. Niall said that teams have been deployed to track down and arrest the accused driver.
