Armed criminals shot at a businessman and looted Rs 7 lakh from him on a running train between Ara and Koelwar railway stations under Danapur railway division of East Central Railway, on Thursday.

The victim, identified as Mohammad Yakub, has been admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital, where his condition is stated to be out of danger. Yakub, a resident of Noorsarai in Nalanda district, received bullet injuries on his left thigh.

Yakub told the police that a group of armed men barged into a compartment of the Bikaner-Guwahati Express and started robbing the passengers. When he resisted them, one of them fired at him. Thereafter, they escaped with the bag containing his money.

Yakub was brought down from the train at Patna Junction and admitted to the hospital where a deputy superintendent of police recorded his statement. "The incident happened when Yakub was returning home from Kanpur ," the officer said.

The victim's relatives alleged that Yakub had to wait at the railway station for quite some time because of a dispute among officials over the jurisdiction of the crime spot. While the Government Railway Police (GRP) maintained that the incident took place under the jurisdiction of Bhojpur district, the district police officials vouched for institution of the case with the Ara GRP.

The dispute over the jurisdiction was settled after the intervention of senior police officials. An officer posted at the Patna GRP said the victim did not inform the members of the escort party, which raised suspicion over his statement. "Efforts are on a swing to nab the culprits," the officer said.

Patna superintendent of rail police Prakash Nath Mishra said investigations were underway and the culprits would be apprehended at the earliest.