By A Newsman

Kolkata, 19 September: NIGHTS in Kolkata do not seem to be as safe as they used to be. Bengali actress Kanchana Moitra got to realise this when she was surrounded and harassed by a gang of drunkards on her way back home last night.

According to Moitra, who has acted in numerous TV serials and films, she was returning home via Sirity at Behala around 12.30 last night when someone threw a brick in front of her car. At this, driver Gaur Pal stopped the car and came out to inspect.

Moitra says that as soon as the driver got down, two drunken youths surfaced their and began verbally abusing him. At this, the actress got down from the car and asked the youths why they were behaving in this manner. This made the youths angry and they took away the key of the car.

As the discord continued, another drunken youth arrived at the spot and together they began to harass Moitra and the driver. They refused to return the car key. “I went on pleading saying that it was late in the night and I need to go home. But they cared little and the one, who had the key, suddenly ran away,” she says.

Apprehensive that he might throw away the key and this will make it difficult for them to return home, Moitra and the driver ran after the youth and managed to nab him at some distance. She urged him again to return the key.

“Finding us helpless, the youths then said that the driver and I should slap each other and only then they would give back the car key. It was then that I spotted a night patrol car of the police passing by and ran to it for help. I don’t know what would have happened if the police car had not arrived,” Moitra adds recalling the horrific incident.

On seeing police, two of the youths managed to flee, but the third one ~ Shankar Dalui ~ was netted. Quizzing him, police managed to arrest another youth named Surajit Panda early this morning, while the third one is still absconding.