A 24-year-old nursing student in Lucknow is recovering in hospital after suffering severe injuries while attempting to flee alleged molesters who accosted her during an e-rickshaw ride on May 19.

According to The Times of India, the student had boarded the rickshaw at Burlington Crossing, expecting to head to Tedhi Pulia after visiting her uncle. But shortly after departure, the driver picked up three other men. 

Near Nishatganj, one of them took the wheel while the driver sat next to the student. The vehicle then veered off-course toward Kursi Road, a deserted stretch where the men allegedly began molesting her.

When she protested, one of the accused allegedly covered her mouth. In a desperate bid to escape, the woman leapt from the moving vehicle near Janata Hospital. CCTV footage, cited by The Times of India, shows her hitting the road and being dragged along the surface. A local resident, Geeta Valmiki, witnessed the incident and immediately rushed her to a nearby hospital.

“She was shaken and in pain, but determined to ensure the culprits didn’t get away,” a relative later told the police.

Based on the student’s statement and extensive CCTV footage from multiple points along the route, police arrested the four accused: rickshaw driver Satyam Singh from Faizullaganj, and Anuj Gupta alias Akash, Ranjit Chauhan, and Anil Sinha from Keshavnagar. 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Kamlesh Dixit confirmed that all four men have prior criminal records, with the driver having served time earlier for theft.

Inspector Prabhatesh Srivastava of Gudamba Police said footage from around a dozen surveillance cameras was instrumental in tracking the rickshaw and corroborating the student’s account.

The survivor is currently undergoing counselling alongside treatment. The investigation remains ongoing.