Armed criminals on Thursday assaulted a petrol pump owner, his employees and allegedly looted Rs 8 lakh cash from the gas station.

Nikunj Dev Yadav, the owner of Royal Rajdhani Fuels at Neora in Bihta, said: "At 9am when we were at the pump, around a dozen people entered the gas station. After an altercation with my employees they assaulted them and looted cash kept at the locker."

Yadav said the dozen people also assaulted him and his brother when they intervened. Yadav and his employees have suffered injuries. He has lodged an FIR at Bihta police station.

Yadav, who is undergoing treatment at Paras HMRI Hospital, said: "The criminals attacked me and my elder brother (Nirvan Dev Yadav) and also my manager. The two are being treated at Patna Medical College and Hospital."

Yadav said people from nearby villages who have criminal background are involved in the incident. The criminals after assaulting Yadav and the other employees entered the office and decamped with Rs 8 lakh, the petrol sale money of two days, stated the FIR.

The Bihta police, however, claimed there was no loot. Bihta station house officer R.K. Tiwari said: "It was a brawl between the petrol pump employees and a few people who had gone there to refuel their vehicles. It was a case of who would fill the tanks first."