Armed men beat up passengers of a Kolkata-bound bus coming from Bihar (Representational image)

Armed men beat up passengers of a Kolkata-bound bus coming from Bihar's Bhagalpur, looted over Rs 4 lakh in cash and mobile phones before fleeing to Jharkhand's Dumka district, police said this morning.

Senior police official from Dumka, YS Ramesh, told media persons, "The incident took place near Massanjore in the district on Tuesday night."

"Nine armed men boarded the bus in Dumka town. When the vehicle reached Bagnal More near Massanjore, they overpowered the driver and took control of it at around 11 pm," he said.

Mr Ramesh said, "The armed men beat up the passengers and looted Rs 4.2 lakh in cash and 13 mobiles from them."

"Ten passengers suffered minor injuries and have been treated at a local hospital," he said.

"Four police teams have launched search operations for the accused, who are from Bihar, and have detained some suspects," the police official said.