A woman returning home after work was allegedly raped by two drunk men and then by a taxi driver who offered to drop her home on December 31 night in North Dinajpur’s Kaliaganj.

The 27-year-old woman, who washes utensils at an eatery, is unmarried and lives with her mother, sister and brother.

Police said the taxi driver and another accused had been arrested. A search is on for the third accused.

“The woman was walking home from the eatery late on Tuesday when two drunk men waylaid her and dragged her to a deserted place, where they raped her. The two were Sujan Burman and Shibu Burman, both residents of the Kaliaganj block,” said a police officer.

“She was severely injured but she could still gather herself and started walking home again. Nakul Mohanta, a taxi driver, spotted her while he was passing by in his car. He offered her a lift home and she got into the car. Nakul drove for some distance and raped the woman in the vehicle. She was dumped at a crossing near the eatery where she works around 3am,” the officer said.

By then the woman’s family members had started looking for her. They found her lying at the crossing. The family later lodged a police complaint. The police started an investigation and arrested Shibu and Nakul. “Sujan is on the run,” the officer said.

The police took the woman to court on Thursday and got her statement recorded before a magistrate. Shibu has been remanded in police custody for four days and Nakul in judicial custody for 14 days.