13-YEAR-OLD GIRL PASSENGER’S SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOUR COMPELS CAB DRIVER TO CALL THE COPS IMMEDIATELY
Every day, a cab driver picks up and drops several people from one destination to another. Though it may seem like an easy job to do, after reading this story you won’t feel so. One fine day a taxi driver was caught up in something more than he gets paid for. The whole story was like a fictional movie script, but this time the characters, locations, actions, and every scene cut-to-cut were happening for real with real people involved having real problems in the world. The problems that led one thing to another creating chaos everywhere. A strange and unbelievable story of a 13-year-old girl and a taxi driver that was brought together by fate to change each other’s destiny. What happened when this 13-year-old girl sat inside the taxi?
An Ordinary Day
Satbir Arora has been driving the taxi for a while now. Following his daily routine, he was driving around the city looking for passengers. He was strolling around the neighborhoods of Oxfordshire in search of passengers when he found a client for a ride. At first glance, there was nothing that seemed out of the box about the passenger but little did he know this one traveler would change his life forever.
The Young Passenger
Arora saw a young girl standing by the road waving for the taxi to stop. He stopped the taxi for the girl unaware of what would happen next. Clueless to the fact that certain things were waiting for him to take him on a roller coaster ride filled with dangerous and unexpected events. Life is very unpredictable. We don’t know what is going to happen next. But that’s what makes this life beautiful. Accepting the unpredictable is what we call fate.
Odd Behaviour
Arora didn’t suspect anything when he stopped for the young girl. Judging by her looks, he could tell that she was around 13 years old. She wore a conservative school uniform. When asked where does she want to go, she replied, “Gloucestershire Railway Station.” Now, that was something that made Arora a little suspicious. Why does a 13-year-old girl want to go to a railway station? Do her parents know about her whereabouts?
The Drop Location
Arora was surprised to hear the location this 13-year-old girl made. He noticed that the young girl wasn’t herself. There was fear on her face. She kept shaking her leg and moment to moment she kept biting her nails. The cabbie had no idea what was going on her with her but his instincts were telling him that something wasn’t right. He had so many questions in his mind of which he wanted answers to but something was stopping him.
Uneasy Feeling
The Gloucestershire Railway Station was more than an hour’s drive from the town of Oxfordshire, the place where he picked up the young girl. The distance between the two places made Arora worried a little. To him, it was strange to see a girl sitting in his taxi’s back seat in her school uniform and heading towards a location far from her place and only she knew where she would head next after he has dropped her. But there was something inside him that said that the girl is hiding something.
Work Ethics
Arora knew that it was none of his business to know the reason behind the location the passenger has asked him to drop, but this time he thought of making an exception. He felt that things were not right. The fact that had him worried was that she had asked him to drop her to a train station that was more than an hour’s drive from her house.
Breaking The Tension
Arora had a feeling that the girl’s parents most probably were not aware of the girl’s whereabouts and that she was traveling so far. And even if she knew where she was going then she must have lied to them about the explanation as to why was she going so far. At this particular time, multiple theories were racing through Arora’s mind.
Small Talks
The driver to lighten the atmosphere thought of initiating a convo. It was his way of breaking the tension that had clouded the cab. And the very first question that the guy asked made him more suspicious about the girl. He asked the girl about why was she heading so far away from her home.
Her Response
For Arora, it was no big deal to engage in the small talks with the passengers and it was even an easier job when the ride was way too long. But the main problem that Arora seemed to face was that the young girl was already seeming anxious from the start of the ride.
No Answer
The girl was sitting silently since the beginning of the ride. But the driver was way too determined; he did not give up and kept asking her the small details about the trip. This was the trick which Arora was using to help him assess the situation. He kept asking where she would head out after reaching Gloucestershire Station.
A Suspicious Answer
The schoolgirl passenger after seeing the driver’s perseverance knew that he would not give up that easily and she answered him. But the response was what made Arora who was already skeptical about the whole situation more suspicious about what was going on. The girl did answer him but was not ready to reveal much.
An Important Question
The answer that the thirteen-year-old lady passenger gave him was that she was simply going somewhere with a friend. She did not give any more details regarding the friend’s name or the details of the destination. And on hearing such an answer the driver became more suspicious and straight away fired another question, “Do your parents know about this?”
More Lies
When Arora started to ask whether her parents knew about the trip, she started getting defensive and said that her parents were fully aware that she was going to meet a friend. Arora nodded but was not convinced that she was telling the truth. Arora was pretty sure that she was hiding some sort of secret.
Defensive Mode
As the driver’s questions started increasing the girl started to get more and more defensive. However, the driver was not ready to give up until he got the answers that he was looking for.
What was the information that the driver was seeking to keep her safe? Moreover, why was he interested in finding out who she was meeting or where were they going?
Something Was Wrong
Arora always knew that it was not right on his part to ask for any information from his passengers and that too personal information was totally against his work ethics. But he had a feeling that things weren’t right and he had to keep his work ethics aside to know what was going on. But he wasn’t sure as to what or why the things were seeming pretty weird.
Wrong Vibes
Arora knew from the very first moment that the thing she told him about his parents knowing about the trip was a lie. And when the girl stopped answering any of his questions and stopped giving him any pieces of information he started having a bad feeling about the whole situation. But he also had a feeling that he even though his intentions were good, he might have scared off the kid.
A Friend
As the cab was nearing the drop location, the driver started to get more and more worried and frightened. He did not want to let that kid out of his cab because he feared for her safety. He was frightened that something bad might happen to that girl. After battling with all of these thoughts on his minds he got frustrated and had no clue as to what he should do.
Ran Away
As soon as the cab arrived at Gloucester Railway Station, the lady passenger started to looking for someone. Arora asked, “Who are you waiting for?”. She simply answered that she was waiting for “a friend,”. And after that, she grabbed her backpack quickly and rushed away from the cab.
Anxious Behavior
When the girl got off from the taxi, Satbir felt that it was wrong to leave that girl alone at that station. He thought that he would not leave till the time her “friend” arrives. Arora thought that he would stay and observe the girl and what she did so she started becoming more upset. This made Arora think that he was right not to drive away.
Watch Closely
Arora felt uncomfortable to leave that teenage girl alone at the station, so he thought that he would stay for some more time and continue to observe that girl. All confused and frustrated he thought of getting some third party advice from his wife. He explained the whole situation to his wife that he faced and hoped that she would be able to help him out.
The Growing Tension
Satbir Arora operates the taxi service together with his wife, and therefore he decided to call and ask for her help. He thought of talking to her about the suspicious behavior of that girl and he hoped that she could offer him a piece of advice for helping this girl.
What’s Wrong?
All the time that he was on his phone talking to his wife and narrating her the whole situation, he never stopped observing what that girl was doing. He knew that he was done with his professional duties but he had a moral obligation towards the safety of that girl. Meanwhile, Arora’s wife became equally nervous about that girl. There was something about this girl which was quite unsettling but no one could figure out what!
A Mother’s Instinct
After getting an insight into the whole situation, Arora’s wife was nervous too. Being a woman, she thought that it would be really easy for the teenage girl to talk to her and open up. She and her husband agreed that it was the best thing to do. So decided that she would try and talk to that girl.
Comforting Her
The couple believed that it would be easy for a 13-year-old girl to talk to a lady more comfortably and tell her about the whole situation. After discussing the whole situation and deciding the next step Arora rolled down his window and called the girl.
But why would a teenage girl trust a cab driver who pestered her with suspicious questions during the ride? And that too to talk to a stranger over the phone!
Female To Female
The girl kept on waiting for quite some time and she started to get more and more anxious, but no one showed up. Arora was observing everything very carefully. He called his wife and asked the girl to speak to her. The girl was hesitant to take the phone and talk but Arora was able to convince her to talk and she finally agreed.
Scared At First
The poor little girl was very scared but she somehow mustered the courage to take the phone and talk to Arora’s wife. But the main problem that crossed Arora’s mind was whether she would open about what was wrong to his wife? And will that phone call help him in saving that lost little soul?
Same Questions
Although the girl was terrified about the fact that she had to talk to a stranger and that too the wife of a guy who kept on asking her multiple questions during the ride.
“Hello?” said the girl. Arora watched the whole conversation as his wife kept asking the same questions he was asking moments ago.
‘The Question’
Then came the biggest question that the couple had been trying to figure out. “Do your parents know where you’re going?” asked Arora’s wife. Although the girl did not answer at once, Arora’s wife was getting to the bottom of the truth. She wanted the girl to muster courage and speak it out loud.
Was the girl facing some trouble? Can the couple help her?
Tension All-Around
The couple was quite worried as to what was going but they did not let the girl feel the anxiety that was clouding the atmosphere. Arora’s wife gently called out the girl out for not telling the truth to them. She explained that the couple had her best interest in their minds. And the thing is she was right, some motherly figure was what she needed to open up.
Looking For Help
The schoolgirl, although nervous, revealed that she hadn’t told her parents about her trip. She also told Arora’s wife that she was anxious about the situation she was getting herself into. Because she was a minor, the couple did not think twice about immediately seeking help from the police.
Her Online Friend
At this point, the girl felt slightly relaxed talking to the driver and felt quite comfortable while opening up to him. She felt that she could tell him the truth without any fear.
She confessed that she was going to meet a friend that she had met online. This answer made Arora’s fear come true as he knew that something shady was going on.
Authorities Assemble!
Arora instantly called the authorities and requested assistance immediately. The girl along with Arora started to wait for the authorities. Meanwhile, Arora started talking to the girl and asked about more specifications about who she was going to meet and hoped that he would receive a detailed answer this time.
Worried
Once Arora learned about the online friend that she had acquired he knew that he had to protect that girl from the unknown threat that she was facing and did not realize. The thing that worried Arora more was that the girl was alone and underage. And during this time the final piece of the puzzle was going to come into play.
Sam Hewings
Sam Hewings, a 24-year-old was at that same moment roaming on the Gloucestershire station. He had a backpack that was tightly clenched in one hand and was continuously scanning the crowd. He was looking for someone specific. Can he be the phantom that she met online?
Looking For The Girl
Sam was looking for a girl he was to meet whom he met online. But while searching her on the station he saw that 2 police cars were waiting at the station. When he saw the authorities he got frightened and left the station as soon as possible and trying not to get noticed during the same.
A Masterplan
At the same time our own Sherlock Holmes, the cab driver wasn’t done with the strategies. Arora then asked the girl if he could borrow her phone. The girl was not at ease while doing so but she handed over the phone to Arora who had in mind to call her online friend.
What did Arora have on mind? Did he have some kind of plan to catch that guy?
Hewings’ Mistake
Hewings was in a hurry to leave the station unnoticed when his phone rang. He was in such a hurry that without even noticing the fact that who was calling he picked up the phone. But the moment realization struck him about who was on the other side, he hung up the phone without even uttering a single word. Although no conversation took place, that phone call was enough to reveal many dark secrets about the phantom!
Caught On Camera
We live in the era of digital security where almost nothing is hidden from the authorities and this is the part that Hewings did not realize. He was caught on camera answering the phone call and this was going to help the authorities in catching the predator.
A Critical Call
The authorities tracked his phone number using the local tower that was used to connect the call. And then the authorities got to know the dark plans that guy had.
After being identified the authorities came to know that Sam had booked two train tickets, one for him and another for a child and the ride would take them both to his house.
True Identity
The most horrifying piece of evidence that authorities collected were Hewings’ online chats. It contained every detail as to what were his plans about that lite girl. When his chats were studied then it came to light what horrifying plans that Hewings had. With the help of the chats, the authorities concluded that they were dealing with a ‘Pedophile’.
The Shocking Facts
As soon as truth came into the light about Hewings’ identity everybody started to get surprised. His dark ideas led to a horrific plan that he had devised for that little girl which would put that little girl’s life at risk. His online chat history showed his participation in various dark groups.
Hewings’ History
In these various groups, he talked about how he had planned to kidnap, sedate and even sexually abuse a victim. These evidenced showed the darkness that was lurking deep down within him, and how fortunate that little girl was to escape that situation.
Search Warrant
As soon as the authorities got to know the truth about the identity and motives of Hewings they did not waste even a minute in getting the paperwork done to search Hewings’ house. When they invaded his house they stumbled across a backpack, the one that Hewing had with him when he was at Gloucestershire Railway station.
A Suspicious Bag
But the real shock that police received was when they opened the backpack. The bag that Hewings carried with him had two sharp knives, a glass case stuffed with co-codamol which is a very strong sedative and a roll of duct tape. These things pointed out the evil and dark plans Hewings had for that teenage girl.
Court’s Hearing
When the police found the bag stuffed with all kinds of dangerous articles they arrested Hewing and very soon he was presented to Gloucestershire Crown Court.
“From about September to November last year your chat logs reveal your pedophile tendencies and desires,” said Judge Michael Cullum. “You said, ‘I have a teen in mind but she needs to be kidnapped,’” the judge added.
Found Guilty
Although Hewings wasn’t able to complete his plans, he had all sorts of dark ideas on his mind and police had the proof of the same. These pieces of evidence were enough to get Hewings convicted. Hewings manipulated her in believing that she would be safe with him. And this was the sole reason that Girl agreed to travel with him.
An Unsung Hero
It was Satbir Arora, the taxi driver who was the unsung hero of the whole act. If it wouldn’t have been for him the girl might have been with that monster. It was his perseverance and his strength of character that saved that girl from a person like Hewing.
Destiny
Just a night before the abduction of that teenage girl was to take place, she had booked a cab in the wee hours of the morning. It was as if God himself had sent Satbir to help that little girl out of this mess. He later said that he sensed some wrong vibes since the very first moment he saw her.
The Training Programme
Arora further reported that he had taken safeguarding training months before the incident. The training helped the driver to assess a person’s behavior and judge whether something is wrong with that person and help him or her out. Looks like destiny had planned everything to save that little girl.
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