Behrampore, May 30: Robbers posing as passengers hijacked a government bus in Murshidabad and looted cash and other valuables worth around Rs 3 lakh.

The eight robbers had boarded the Bankura town-Raghunathgunj bus from Nalhati around 8.30pm.

“Soon after the bus left Nalhati, the robbers took out pistols and bhojalis,” a police officer said.

Driver Kanai Kundu, 45, said: “One of the robbers held a bhojali to my throat and ordered me to stop the bus. When I applied the brakes and tried to bring the bus to a halt beside the road, he pulled me out of the seat and slashed me on my chest with the bhojali. Then he started driving.”

The other robbers, their faces covered with black cloths, pointed revolvers and bhojalis at the passengers and ordered them to hand over their belongings.

Bidi trader Abdul Aziz said a bag containing Rs 38,000 in cash was snatched from him. Gold chains and earrings of women were taken away.

After around 40 minutes, the robbers stopped the bus on NH34 in Raghunathgunj and fled. Kundu, who was bleeding, then drove the vehicle to the police station 10km away and the passengers lodged a complaint.

“We have started a probe. We hope to arrest the culprits soon,” district police chief Humayun Kabir said.