NOWSHERA, Nov 5: Five bandits hijacked a Lahore-bound bus and deprived passengers of more than Rs650,000 and valuables near Taro Jabba on the GT Road here on Thursday night.

The bus with 22 passengers on board left the general bus-stand in Peshawar at around 10.30pm when five bandits who were in the bus took out pistols near Taro Jabba and asked the driver to take the bus to the fields.

Driver Zabta Khan told police that the bus got stuck in the field near Chowki Mamrez where two more gunmen joined the bandits and made the passengers hostage. He said they kept the passengers at gunpoint for one hour and collected cash worth more than Rs650,000, mobile sets and valuables from them and escaped.

The bandits took away Rs350,000 from Zahirullah, a trader of iron and steel from Shabqadar, Rs7,000 from Sardar Ali, resident of Bajaur Agency, Rs24,000 from Hayat Khan, Rs5,000 from Qudratullah, Rs45,000 from Umar Farooq, resident of Akhunabad,Rs25,000 from Fazlur Rehman, resident of Tehkal,Rs51,000 from Rehmat Shah, resident of Bashirabad, Rs25,000 from Malik Manshah, Resident of Qasur, Rs2,000 from Imam Bakhsh, resident of Khushab, Rs21,000 from Haji Khushal, resident of Sheikhabad, Rs5,000 from Fazal Ghani, Rs7,000 from Ayaz, resident of Haji Banda, Rs5,000 from Matiullah, Rs9,000 from Muzammil, Rs65,000 from Said Rehman, Rs8,000 from Hayat, Rs5,000 from Niaz Mohammad, Rs50,000 from Koochay, resident of Sheikhabad, and Rs1,200 from Awaj.