Two of the robbers fell to the bullets - fired from a licensed imported pistol - on the shop premises while the third managed to run a few distance away from the site but collapsed in front of the Mayo entrance. Their identity could not be ascertained till late this evening. Two country-made revolvers, two knives, two live cartridges and a fired blank were recovered from the site.

Senior police officials, including city police chief Ullhas Joshi, visited the site after the shop owner informed the local police control room about the shootout. All the three men were in their late 20s. The incident occurred nearly half-an-hour after last midnight at Shyam Medical Stores, adjacent to the Mayo entrance, while shop owner Prakash Dwarkadas Kalyani waspreparing to call it a day.

As matter of routine, Kalyani was praying inside in the shop while Prakash's younger brother, Rajendra, was waiting for him near their Maruti car and an employee, Satish Dwivedi busy cleaning the premises when the unknown trio walked into the medical shop.

Rajendra, who thought they were customers, took the trio towards the shop counter even as Prakash completed his prayer. To their surprise, when they were asked what they wanted, two of them pulled out country-made revolvers while the third brandished a knife telling the Kalyanis to surrender their cash and other valuables. However, Prakash took a little note of their threats.

However, the shop owner was shaken when one of the miscreants actually fired a shot from his revolver. The bullet whizzed past him and hit a showcase prompting the Kalyanis to duck for cover.

An unfazed Prakash managed to reach for his licensed Belgian-made pistol and retaliated by firing as many as five shots. Two of these bullets missed the targetbut the next three hit each one of the miscreants either on the chest or the ribs. Consequently, two of the armed men collapsed in the shop while the third ran outside in an injured condition. A few distance away from the shop, he too collapsed.

In a swift action, Prakash pulled down the shutters of his shop and went on to inform the local police control room. A staff from the Tehsil police rushed at the site while Joshi and other senior police officers arrived a little later.

Two country-made revolvers and as many live cartridges, two knives and a fired blank were recovered from the site. A personal computer set was damaged in the incident as also the showcase which was hit by the miscreants' bullet.

Speculation were rife about the antecedents of the trio although their identities remained a mystery till late this evening. Investigators were reported to have recovered cinema tickets of a nearby cinema from the person of one of the miscreants, suggesting that the trio arrived at the medical shop afterwatching the second show.

The possibility of the three hailing from the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh was not ruled out although there was no official theory in this regard.