The abducted girl had managed to send text messages to a hostel mate begging for help while in the car, following which the police fanned out across the city and began tracking the girl’s cell phone.

Around 11.30 pm, Tanvi Choubey, a 20-year-old intern at the CMCH, was rescued from Fariapukur in the Lake Town and taken to Lalbazar for interrogation. At the time of going to press, Jawed Shamim, DCP (detective department) said: “This is a sensitive case. The girl was apparently unharmed. The interrogation is still on and the police are exploring all angles.”

Police said Choubey had returned to the women’s hostel after finishing for the day at the hospital at 7.15 pm. A short while later, she went to the State Bank of India ATM adjacent to the Calcutta University premises to make a withdrawal when three youths in a taxi dragged her out of the ATM cubicle and forced her in the car. The spot from where she was abducted is usually desolate in the evening.

Her colleague Sujata Sarangi, who also lives in the hostel, told the police she had received five text messages from Choubey pleading to be rescued. The messages said she was being driven around the city by the youths after being kidnapped.

The police, meanwhile, questioned some other hostellers, including those some close to her, and refused to allow anyone to leave the hostel premises. Sources said her friends told the police she had been receiving threatening messages for the past few days. She had informed her friends about the some SMSes on her cell phone, but did not take them very seriously.

“It is not clear why she was abducted,” said a senior officer of detective department.