Armed men rob Blueline bus passengers

In a daring robbery at around midnight, three armed men boarded a Blueline bus in the capital and looted around 40 passengers of Rs 4,000 in cash and six mobile phones, police said on Thursday.

The robbers boarded the bus near Seelampur flyover in north-east Delhi on Wednesday night and brandished their arms, threatening passengers and asking them to give them their valuables and mobile phones. The bus plies between Seemapuri and Shivaji Stadium.

Around 15-20 local "criminals" were detained by the police in connection with the incident which took place in Seelampur in north-east Delhi around 11:30 pm, deputy commissioner of Police (North-East) SS Yadav said.

According to Yadav, one of the robbers stood at the front door while two others entered the bus from the rear door.

They took out their arms and asked the driver not to stop the bus.

While passengers claimed that one person was carrying a firearm, Yadav said the robbers were not carrying guns. "One of them was carrying a knife," he said.

The robbers threatened the passengers and asked them to hand over their valuables and mobile phones, he said adding two passengers were hit by them.

The robbers got off at a deserted place near Welcome area and escaped on foot, Yadav said, adding the robbers took away Rs 4,000 in cash and six mobile phones from passengers.

Yadav said the police are hopeful of arresting the real culprits. "We will identify the culprits with the help of passengers," he said.

Though police said there were only three robbers involved in the crime, passengers in the bus claimed there were six.

Ramesh Kumar, a passenger, said said six men boarded the bus and threatened to kill them if they raised an alarm. He claimed that they snatched Rs 3,500 from him and hit him with the butt of a revolver.

Another passenger Geeta Kumari said they were so scared that they handed over all their valuables.