A teenaged girl jumped out of a moving autorickshaw to save herself from the clutches of three men, who allegedly tried to molest and kidnap her in Mumbra township of neighbouring Thane district, police said today. The 17-year-old girl boarded an autorickshaw on a shared basis along with two men in Mumbra yesterday morning.

However, when she realised that the autorickshaw driver was taking the vehicle on a different route, she raised an alarm, police sub-inspector Chihvad Shetty said. But, the men sitting besides her allegedly tried to molest her in the moving vehicle and assaulted her.

However, the girl managed to jump out from the moving vehicle to save herself and later went to Mumbra police station and filed a complaint against three unidentified persons, including the autorickshaw driver, Shetty said. Police have registered an offence under sections 366 (abduction), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 323 of the IPC and have launched a search for the accused.

Also see our 11:25 am post: Pregnant woman leaps from train to avoid rape