30 injured in gruesome train robbery in India

Oct 11, 2009, 7:44 GMT

   New Delhi - At least 30 passengers were injured after a gang of armed robbers looted them of their valuables and beat them on a train in India's eastern state of Bihar Sunday, a news report said.

   Railway officials said around 20 robbers boarded the Janata Express in the Jamui district, 100 kilometres south-east of state capital Patna, early Sunday, the NDTV network reported.

   They brought the train to a halt by pulling an emergency chain in one of the coaches.

   'They were armed with pistols, knives and sticks. They looted the belongings of the passengers and beat up travellers with pistol butts and rods when they resisted,' a witness told the NDTV network.

Several injured passengers were hospitalized and said to be in a serious condition, the report said.

   Valuables amounting to about 500,000 rupees (about 10,750 dollars) were robbed, said passengers who filed a complaint with the local police. The Janata Express is mainly used by farmers and workers from India's countryside.

   Police launched a hunt for the dacoits, as members of a robber band or gangs are commonly known in India.

   Murders and violence are common in Bihar, which is known as India's poorest and most lawless state.