Mumbai,  In a shocker, three scooter-borne armed robbers carried out a daring daylight heist on a gold jewellery shop and shot dead its owner before fleeing, officials said here on Wednesday.

The sensational incident occurred at the Om Sairaj Jewellers at Gavde Nagar in Dahisar east around 10.45 a.m. in full public view of the busy locality, and the police have launched a manhunt for the culprits.

According to eyewitnesses and CCTV footage, three unidentified persons on triple-load on an Activa scooter came and then went into the shop. They threatened the owner and started emptying many of the counters and display shelves.

When the owner tried to prevent them, they whipped out a pistol and shot him in the head before speeding away on the scooter with two bags full of the looted jewellery.

The exact quantity or value of the stolen booty is not known and several teams of the Dahisar Police Station are carrying out further investigations as the incident sparked outrage in the city.

Based on the CCTV footage, the police have released a description of the robbers, alerted all check-posts and exit-points to the city to keep a lookout and nab them as soon as possible.