Patna, Aug. 23: An SUV-borne criminals today looted Rs 10 lakh from two employees of a Motihari-based businessman after opening fire near Chandi village under Sadar police station in Vaishali district, about 30km north of Patna.

The incident took place at around 11.30am when Suman Kumar (the munshi of the trader) and Bipin Kumar (driver) were on their way to Patna from Motihari in a car. An SUV intercepted the car near Chandi and three gun-toting men got down from it and snatched the bag containing the money.

When the driver of the car tried to escape, one of the criminals opened fire causing bullet injuries in his palm. The assailants, however, managed to escape with the money with consummate ease. Nathuni Prasad Jaiswal, the owner of the firm that deals in construction material, was not in the car at the time of the incident.

Vaishali superintendent of police Upendra Kumar Sinha said the police have got some important lead in the case.

“The police are on the job and we hope to solve the case at the earliest,” he said, adding that a police team headed by a deputy superintendent of police has been assigned the job.

He said the victims reported the matter to the police a bit late. “By the time the police came to know about the incident, the criminals had made their escape good,” the SP said.

Preliminary investigation revealed the criminals were following the car for quite sometime. “The munshi and the driver have also been questioned,” an investigating officer said, adding their role was also under the scanner. The munshi and the driver had left Chhitauni near Motihari early in the morning for Patna where they were supposed to hand over the money to a reputed firm dealing in iron rods and other building materials.