Robbers targeted a city-bound APSRTC bus from Shirdi near Jamkhed in Maharashtra on Saturday night and decamped with cash and gold.
Third robbery this year
The third such incident this year in a Shirdi bus, Saturday’s incident occurred when the bus (AP29Z 2255) left for Hyderabad from Shirdi at 4.30 p.m.
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The bus was heading towards Jamkhed, when at around 10.30 p.m, 10 robbers hiding in the bushes, suddenly rushed on to the road on bikes, and forced the driver to stop the bus.
Passengers attacked
The bus driver said four robbers wearing masks entered the bus and threatened passengers with knives.
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One of them bit the finger of a 15-year-old passenger Sumani to intimidate her father after he refused to part with his gold chain. They attacked another woman Shailaja and snatched her gold chain, causing a minor neck injury. Both passengers were given treatment at Sadasivapet on Sunday morning.
The bounty
In all, the robbers took away about 16.5 tolas of gold and nearly Rs. 28,000 in cash, including Rs. 6,100 from the bus driver, said RTC Ranga Reddy Regional Manager S. Vinod Kumar.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation and police were immediately alerted. Police have caught two suspects and the investigation is on, Mr. Kumar said.
The bus was scheduled to arrive at 7 a.m. in Hyderabad but due to the investigation and treatment, it reached the capital at 3.30 p.m. Authorities claimed that all the passengers were dropped at their homes in RTC vehicles. An RTC vigilance team headed by Vigilance and Security Officer Ramchandra Rao were deployed at Zaheerabad to coordinate with the Maharashtra police.