Kendrapara, Oct. 19: Armed robbers looted a passenger bus at Tikarpanga traffic junction on Paradip-Daitary expressway. The bus, carrying 45 passengers, was on its way to Paradip from Contai in Bengal.

Police estimated the loot amount to be worth Rs 3 lakh, including gold ornaments.

Three armed goons, wearing masks, boarded the bus after blocking its way with stone blocks. Brandishing sharp-edged weapons, they beat the bus driver, the conductor and some passengers. They fled after extracting cash and gold ornaments from the passengers.

Police sources said that 12 persons, including women, suffered from injuries. Such crime is first of its kind to have occurred in these parts of the state.

They snatched the bag containing Rs 70,000 cash from the conductor. Some of the passengers attempted to fight back, but the robbers beat them up. Even women and children were not spared. There were about 18 women in the bus and all of them were robbed of their gold ornaments, said the inspector of Marshaghai police station, Sukant Kumar Patra.

A case under Section 392 and Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Marshaghai police station and a hunt is on for nabbing the robbers, police said.

“I was fast asleep. I was woken up by noise. They snatched a gold chain from me. It was the worst nightmare of my life,” said Jyoshna Mandal, one of the passengers.