The robbers are Dulal, 35, and Sumon, 20, of Madaripur, Zakir, 20, of Gopalganj and Azizul, 19, of Khulna. Dulal gave identity of himself and other robbers before he succumbed to his injuries at Puthia hospital.

Doctors said two robbers bore the marks of hanging around their necks and their legs were also tied.

Residents of Tarapur, however, said three robbers died one and a half hours after they handed them over to police. They could not say how the other died.

Police said nine robbers in the guise of passengers boarded a Rajshahi-bound BRTC bus from Kurigram. As the bus reached Jhalmolia in Puthia at around 9:00pm, they started robbing at gunpoint.

At one stage, the supervisor of the bus jumped out of the vehicle and barricaded the road with another BRTC bus coming from behind.

Hearing shouts, villagers from Tarapur and Kandra rushed to the scene and beat two robbers to death, said police.

The other two robbers were caught by the mob at Tarapur Bazaar. Police said they rescued them and sent them to hospital. One of them was pronounced dead upon arrival, while the other, Dulal, died half an hour later.

Two passengers -- Abul Kashem and Abdul Khaleque -- were injured as the robbers stabbed them.

VILLAGERS' VERSION
The villagers said they caught Dulal after chasing him about two kilometres and held Sumon and Azizul from two houses in Kandra and Tarapur. The robbers were handed over to police, they added.

PASSENGERS' ACCOUNT
Abul Kashem and Abdullah Al Selim and a few others said they did not see any of the robbers caught and beaten up.

"The driver and helper might have link with the robbers as they were talking with them since they (robbers) boarded the bus from Natore," alleged Selim.

The officer-in-charge of Puthia Police Station however said the mob lynched the robbers before police reached the scene.

Police recovered looted goods including a mobile phone, a Tk 8,000-bank draft and Tk 5,000 in cash.