Bus torched in C'garh, Naxal hand suspected

A bus was set ablaze by suspected Naxals after they asked its passengers to alight in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, a police official said on Tuesday.

They also robbed the passengers of their cash and mobile phones before fleeing, he said.

The incident took place on Monday night when the private bus was on its way to Narayanpur town from neighbouring Kondagaon district, Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI.

Around 12 suspected Maoists stopped the bus near Kokodi rivulet, located around 300 km from the capital Raipur, and asked the passengers to get down, he said.

"They then poured petrol on the vehicle and set it ablaze. The attackers also took away mobile phones and cash of the passengers before escaping from the spot," he said.

However, none of the passengers or bus crew was harmed, the official said.

"Prima facie, it appears Naxals executed the incident. But, so far it has been noticed that Naxals have never robbed passengers after committing such crime. We are probing and trying to trace the attackers," Garg said.

On getting information about the incident, security forces rushed to the spot, he said, adding that combing operations were underway to nab the culprits.