A kidnap drama that never was had the cops sweating. Several police teams were on full alert on Monday, but their tension soon gave way to relief at a city hotel, where the “hostage” was found celebrating Raksha Bandhan with her “kidnappers”.

The hostage: a 23-year-old German national, Sabini Barbara Krienke, a fourth-year student of medicine and frequent visitor to the city. She treats street children for free.

The abductors: her assistants who wanted a tip for Rakhi.

The drama unfolded around 10.20 am when a tense voice informed Lalbazar about a kidnapping he had just witnessed in central Calcutta.

According to the informer, four or five men forced a foreigner into a cab in front of Jeevan Deep building and sped away towards south Calcutta. “The man also gave us the registration number of the taxi and we informed the neighbouring police stations at once,” said Sanjay Mukherjee, the deputy commissioner of police (headquarters).

Officials from Shakespeare Sarani, Maidan, New Market, Hastings and Bhowanipore police stations were pushed into action to locate the vehicle.

“Plainclothes detective department officials were deployed in the adjoining areas. Within an hour, the officer-in-charge of Shakespeare Sarani police station, Subrata Ghosh, spotted the cab at the spot from where the woman was allegedly kidnapped,” Mukherjee said.

The driver told the police that he drove five youths and a woman to an ATM counter on Sudder Street, from where she withdrew money and distributed Rs 150 each to her five companions, before getting off at a Free School Street hotel.

The rest of the kidnap mystery was cleared at the hotel. “Krienke said she treats 25 children a day during her visit, when she puts up at the hotel. This morning, the five youths who help her asked for some money for Raksha Bandhan and she merely obliged them,” Mukherjee added.