Six men rob bus passengers on e-way, 2 arrested

According to the police, the incident occurred at around 4.45 am on Friday, when the bus plying between Katra in Jammu and Kashmir and Alwar in Rajasthan, reached KMP and was intercepted by six masked men

Passengers and staff on a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation bus were assaulted and robbed of ₹27,000 on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway (KMP) in the early hours of Friday, police said. Two of the suspects have been apprehended while a search is on for the remaining four, they said.

Passengers and staff on a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation bus were assaulted and robbed of ₹27,000 on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway (KMP) in the early hours of Friday (Representative photo)

According to the police, the incident occurred at around 4.45 am on Friday, when the bus plying between Katra in Jammu and Kashmir and Alwar in Rajasthan, reached KMP and was intercepted by six masked men.

Ajay Malik, station house officer of Bilaspur police station, said the suspects assaulted a few passengers, following which the driver, co-driver and conductor raised an alarm. “The suspects snatched the ticket machine from the co-driver and broke it and took the ₹27,000 collected as the ticket fare,” Malik said.

The SHO said many vehicles passing by witnessed the assault and stopped, but did not come to the aid of the bus passengers fearing retaliation. “When the suspects started getting down from the bus, two passengers caught hold of the two suspects while the rest fled,” he said.

Bus driver Dan Singh (42) said the suspects tried to rob all the passengers but could only flee with the ticket collection. “The suspects assaulted a few passengers… The passengers showed courage and united to thrash them (the two suspects apprehended)…,” Singh said.

Passersby informed the police, following which a team from the Bilaspur police station reached the spot and apprehended the suspects. Police said the suspects have been identified as Himanshu and Amit of Noorpur village in Pataudi.

Malik said both suspects are currently admitted to hospital and they are conducting raids to arrest the remaining suspects. “During questioning, they revealed they were following the bus from Delhi as they thought the passengers travelling from Jammu would have valuables and due to early morning there will be less volume of traffic on the stretch,” he said.

A case has been registered under sections 147 (riots), 149 (unlawful assembly), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 352 (criminal force), 341 (wrongful confinement), 379-A (snatching), 427 (causing damage) of Indian Penal Code.