Dhanbad, Jul 7 (IANS): Around 50 criminals attacked the Borragarh colliery of Dhanbad-based Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and looted cables, iron, copper-brass and other valuables worth lakhs of rupees. They also assaulted more than a dozen employees of BCCL.

The condition of five of the employees, who have been admitted to the Central Hospital of BCCL, is said to be critical. The incident occurred between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. in the intervening night of Wednesday-Thursday.

The criminals fired at least half-a-dozen rounds and also detonated bombs to spread panic. All the 16 staff in night shift were taken hostage.

When they resisited, they were attacked with the weapons. Yadu Mahto, Baleshwar Mahto, Kauleshwar Bhuyan, Pradeep Choubey and two others who were injured are being treated at Central Hospital in Dhanbad.

The criminals also demolished the boundary wall of the colliery. Sources said the carnage continued for almost two hours. The looted materials were loaded on a goods vehicle and carried away.

Expressing anger over the incident, one of the employees said, "The management puts us on duty without any security. The police and CISF personnel only pretend to work in the name of patrolling."

A police team reached the spot after they were informed by the BCCL employees about the incident. Bullet shells were recovered from the spot.

The colliery employees have announced that they will not do night duty unless they are provided adequate security. They also expressed anger in front of the BCCL officials.

Earlier, on the night of June 16, criminals had looted cables worth around Rs 2 lakh deom the Anna colliery in Dhanbad. On the night of June 7, a similar incident was reported from the South Balihari colliery in the PB area.