Jewellers Ranjit Jain and his brother Himmat were at their shop Ambika Jewellers at Zohra Manzil, 35, Memonwada Road, at around 9.45 am when two men emerged on a motorcycle. Eyewitnesses said the pillion rider got off the bike, barged inside the shop and fired a round at the jewellers. The two hitmen then quickly escaped.

The bullets missed the targets but hit a glass cupboard in the shop. An 9 mm empty cartridge has been recovered from the spot, police said. Senior inspector Madhukar Thaval of Dongri police station said the jewellers managed to escape the attempt on their lives because they ducked at the right moment.

Preliminary investigations have revealed the shootout is a fallout of the jewellers' refusal to pay extortion money, Thaval said. Police said the jewellers had been receiving threats for the last ten days, and though the callers were demanding a sum of Rs 20lakh as protection money, the jewellers refused to succumb to their demands.

Dongri police, under whose jurisdiction the firing took place, believe some local gangsters could be involved. This is based on the assumption that the threats were not issued in the name of some known underworld don.

However, some senior police officers suspect that members of the Chhota Shakeel gang could be behind the firing. Over the years, Dongri and the adjoining areas of Bhendi Bazaar have been Shakeel's stronghold.