A group of armed robbers barged into the Ganga-Kaveri Express in Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot district, and attacked and robbed several passengers on board the train on Monday morning, IANS reported. Twelve passengers sustained injuries while trying to resist the robbers and four of them are being treated at a local hospital.

The accused blocked the railway tracks soon after the train left Manikpur railway station. “The dacoits barged into two coaches, attacked and threatened clueless sleeping passengers,” an official told the news agency. The police are searching for the accused who are suspected to be part of a local gang, while local intelligence units have received information that the group could be part of the notorious gang led by a dacoit named Babuli Kol.

Allahabad Additional Director General SN Sabat told The Times of India that the robbers numbered over a dozen and they looted several passengers in the S6 and S7 coaches of the train. The Government Railway Police said its personnel guarding the train failed to stop the dacoits from fleeing.

The authorities let the train proceed on its journey to Bihar’s Chhapra two hours after the incident.