Passengers looted by bandits on Agra-Jaipur highway

Agra, Dec 6 (IANS) Armed bandits posing as passengers hijacked and looted a bus, travelling from Agra to Jaipur, after shooting the vehicle's conductor and throwing him out of the bus, a police official said Saturday.

The bus, owned by Ashoka Travels, was hijacked Friday midnight after it left Agra around 10.30 p.m. with about 70 passengers.

After crossing Mirhakur, armed bandits, who were already present in the bus, forced the driver to take the parellel road, next to the highway. The bus conductor was then shot at and thrown out of the moving bus, the police official added.

Later, the bus was parked along a canal in the Kiraoli area and looted.

After looting, the armed bandits took advantage of the dark cover and escaped. The bus was then brought back on the highway.

The alarmed passengers then blocked the traffic and protested against lack of security arrangement.

Tourism circles in Agra have expressed deep shock at the incident.

'Such incidents can easily send out a wrong message and the tourist flow already affected by the Mumbai terror attacks could take a further dent,' Surendra Sharma, founder president of the Agra Hotels and Restaurants Association, told IANS.

He said the security agencies are least prepared with contingency plans to manage a situation like this.