Soon realising their mistake they became desperate and picked up the little they could lay their hands on, like Rs 3500 cash, a wristwatch and an earring - a booty totally worth Rs 28,000.

Eyewitnesses said the foursome in their mid twenties walked away dejected and soon melted in the afternoon crowd. No arrests have made, the police confirmed.

The manager of the shop told the police that the four persons entered the shop posing as customers and suddenly whipped out a revolver and choppers and threatened the salesmen. Local MLA Mangal Lodha, who visited the shop, said that jewellers in south Mumbai are under constant threat. Now the criminals have become so desperate that they are even targetting imitation jewellery shops, he added.

In a second incident in the evening, 10-12 armed men entered MangalamJewellers on Dhanji Street and looted 600 grams of gold and Rs 5 lakh cash. They disappeared from the scene of crime on foot. No arrests have been made. Spokesperson of the Wholesale Gold Merchants' Association said representations to the law enforcement agencies provide them with protection have fallen upon deaf ears. While the police say there have been only 11 jewellery shops have been looted with a loss of Rs 4.5 crore since January this year, the Association claimed that Rs 40 crore worth precious metal and cash was lost in robbery of over 200 shops.