Armed men barged into a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, on the outskirts of Channapatna, in Ramanagaram district, early on Thursday, and robbed two passengers of their cash and gold chain. None of the passengers was hurt.
According to the police, the Kozhikode-Bengaluru bus had stopped at Dodda Maluru near Channapatna for a break at 2.45 a.m.
There were 27 passengers in the ordinary category, limited stop inter-State bus. Some of the passengers were sleeping, while others were taking a break outside.
The gang had arrived on a motorcycle and three of them entered the bus on the pretext of asking the destination of the bus, R. Manjunath, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Channapatna subdivision), told The Hindu . Quoting eyewitnesses, he said: “It all happened in a minute.
Three Kannada-speaking miscreants had covered their faces with cloth.
Brandishing a knife, they snatched a gold chain from a woman passenger and a purse from another person. When they saw the bus driver returning, they sped away.”
Most of the passengers were women.
No one noted the registration number of the motorcycle, Mr. Manjunath said.
The bus was immediately taken to the Channapatna Rural police station where a complaint was lodged. Passengers were then sent to Bengaluru in other buses.
Barricades were set-up on the highway and other roads and a thorough check-up was conducted, but it failed to yield results.
On Thursday evening, two persons were detained in connection with the case
