Three including two cops arrested for robbery, torching bus

Three persons including two policemen were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly looting the passengers of a private bus and torching the vehicle in Chhattisgarh's naxal-affected Narayanpur district.

A fourth accused was yet to be traced, district Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI.

Those arrested were identified as Madhav Kuldip (35), Hirdu Ram Kumeti (26), both police constables posted in Kondagaon, and Dolendra Baghel (21).

Mobile phones and cash looted from the passengers alongwith two motorcycles and two country-made guns used during the robbery were recovered, Garg said.

Another accused, Omkar Kumeti, a former police informer, was still at large, he added.

On the night of August 12, the four accused allegedly stopped a bus of Bastar Travels at Kokodi rivulet near Gangamunda village when it was on the way to Kondgaon from Narayanpur.

They forced the passengers to get down, poured petrol on the bus and set it on fire.

They then robbed passengers of cash and mobile phones before fleeing, the SP said.

Initially the police thought that naxals were involved in the act as the ultras often target buses.

However, police grew suspicious as naxals never rob passengers while torching buses, Garg said.

Cyber cell of the police detected the location of mobile phones looted by the robbers to Bamhani village in Kondagaon, and nabbed Kuldip from there.

Following his questioning, Hirdu and Baghel were arrested from Kondagaon.

They allegedly told police that they had robbed some passers-by on August 11 near Kokodi camp of the security forces, following which police were looking for the culprits.

To divert the police's attention, they planned to rob passengers of a bus and set the vehicle on fire to make it look like the work of naxals, Garg said.

The trio, allegedly, also confessed to having committed robberies on Narayanpur-Orchha, Narayanpur-Kondagaon and Mardoom-Barsoor roads, he said.