An e-rickshaw driver, allegedly abducted by a gang of criminals for his vehicle on Wednesday afternoon in Gazole, Malda district, was found by police around 10 hours after he went missing.

Nilkamal Sarkar, 45, who is now under treatment at a rural hospital, told the police that criminals sedated and abducted him from a locality in Gazole. They then left him at a deserted mango plantation and fled with his vehicle.

Neither the gang nor the e-rickshaw has been traced so far.

Sources said the criminals posed as passengers and approached Sarkar for a ride at Kotalhati in Gazole. “It seems they planned to steal his e-rickshaw and offered him some sedative-laced food. When he became unconscious, they left him at a mango plantation (in Chiradaha, some 2km from Kotalhati),” said a police source. Some residents spotted the unconscious man and informed the police.

“E-rickshaw drivers go to deserted areas with passengers. The police should ensure their safety,” said Arabinda Ghosh, a leader of the union of e-rickshaw owners in Gazole.