New Delhi:
Eight armed men held hostage passengers of a jam-packed blueline bus in broad daylight in West Delhi on Wednesday and robbed them of their cash and valuables. Police suspect that bus driver and conductor could be in league with the criminals.
The bus, plying between Uttam Nagar and Nehru Place, was targetted by the armed robbers at 10.35 am in Janakpuri, a senior police official said.
Around a dozen passengers lost their cash, mobile phones and jewellery as the armed men threatened them, police said.
There were around 55 passengers in the bus and despite raising an alarm, the driver and conductor did not stop the bus, which raised the suspicion of police. The robbers got down at Lajwanti Chowk.
A woman, who works at a private company in Nehru Place, claimed she was robbed of her gold chain and Rs 1,500 cash while a man claimed that the robbers took away Rs 5,000 and his mobile phone from his pocket.
Some of the robbers stood at the exit and entry gates of the bus while others snatched money and other articles on knife point, an eye-witness said.
Passengers told police that the conductor Sanjay allegedly gestured to one of the robbers to free a man known to him whom they were threatening.
"The robbers held hostage a man known to the conductor. Passengers told us that when the man who was held hostage got scared, the conductor gestured to the robbers to free him as he was known to him. This puts the conductor and driver on our radar," the official said.
Passengers told police that driver Sher Singh also did not stop the bus anywhere before Dhaula Kuan where the robbers got down.