Agra: A private bus carrying 34 passengers from Gurugram in Haryana was allegedly ‘hijacked’ from Agra and taken towards Jhansi by the staff of a finance company. The bus was later traced near Jhansi. All passengers are safe and have been provided with an alternate bus for their destination, Panna in Madhya Pradesh.
“The private bus began its journey on Tuesday evening for Panna in Madhya Pradesh. There were 34 passengers in the bus of whom 13 had to get down at Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh while the remaining were to travel to Panna in Madhya Pradesh,” stated SP (West) Agra, rural, Ravi Kumar.
“The bus had just crossed Mathura when it was stopped by car-borne miscreants on the Southern Bye Pass of Agra. They took the bus in control after forcing the driver, along with the conductor and the helper, to get down,” informed SP Ravi Kumar.
“The driver, the conductor and the helper were told to get into the waiting car which moved around Agra. They were later dropped at Kuberpur. The staff of finance company returned the personal mobile and cash that the conductor and driver were carrying. However, they took the ticket money collected by them from the passengers to return them. All three were also provided food and were not harassed by the staff of the finance company,” he said. Nonetheless, the incident created panic.
Driver of the Panna-bound private bus, Ramesh Kumar, said, “About nine people were following the bus in two SUVs. When the bus reached near Etawah toll plaza at about 2.30 am, those in the SUVs intercepted the bus and told us that they were from a finance company. They gave Rs 300 each to me and the conductor of the bus and asked us to get down from the bus. They later drove the bus away.”
Kumar, a resident of Dabra town in Gwalior district, added, “I later came to know that those who took the bus with them asked the passengers to get down from the bus at Mauranipur in Jhansi district (Uttar Pradesh).”
Superintendent of Police, Gwalior Amit Sanghi said, “We have inquired with the private finance company whose name was mentioned by the alleged hijackers but the company said none of its employees was involved in the entire episode and that they were not aware of the incident.”
Dharmendra Chaturvedi, one of the passengers, who belonged from Maheba village in Chhatarpur district, 23, said, “I work in Gurugram. I boarded the bus in Gurugram. When we reached Agra we were asked by the conductor to board another bus. When we were boarding the other bus there was some conflict outside. We didn’t see anyone who indulged in all this. When we reached Gwalior our bus was changed again. In Jhansi we were asked to board another bus then we could reach Nowgong (Chhatarpur).”
Superintendent of police, Chatarpur, Sachin Sharma said, “Chhatarpur police got information from Agra police that a bus had been hijacked near a toll plaza between Agra and Mathura and that staff from Shriram Finance Company made passengers of the bus get down to board another bus. The first bus, which belongs to one Kalpana Travels, was forcibly taken somewhere else. The passengers in the bus who were shifted to the other bus reached Chhatarpur via Agra, Gwalior and finally Jhansi. They had to change their bus at every place.”
“All the passengers are fine and in good health. They are being sent to their homes after screening for Covid-19. The bus which was taken by Shriram Finance was later seized (by police) in Etawah,” he added.
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