Patna, Jan. 10: For jeweller Ashok Kumar, a birthday wish turned out to be a code for horror.

The crime graph in the city continued to soar in the new year when a gang of dacoits raided Ashok’s jewellery shop at Hajiganj this afternoon and decamped with ornaments worth at least Rs 3.5 lakh.

The daring robbery comes a day after a councillor was shot at allegedly at the behest of builders who wanted her to shell out money for a mall she wants to build.

The jewel thieves struck around 3.15pm today. Ashok, the 50-year-old owner of Swarn Rekha Jewellers, was in the shop with his wife and two fellow businessmen, when three of the robbers, posing as customers, walked in.

Babloo Khatri, owner of the adjacent New Khazana Jewellers, recalled the ordeal. “Ashok and his wife were at the counter and I had come to his shop for some work. Alok Kumar, the owner of Maa Vaishavi Jewellers, was also present. Three persons, aged between 22 and 25 years, entered the shop. They wanted a gold chain as a birthday gift for their sister,” Khatri said.

The men scanned through many chains for around 10 minutes. “They asked for more and more designs. I showed them around 10 chains. Alok Kumar also had two chains of his and he displayed them as well. Altogether, there were around 12 chains on the counter. Around 3.30pm, one of the men received a call on his cellphone. After a few seconds of conversation, he laughed and said ‘happy birthday to you’. Once he had said that, five men from nowhere suddenly barged into the shop armed with pistols,” Ashok Kumar said.

The criminals took away all the chains placed on the counter and trooped out. “They were pointing the weapons at us and we dared not scream or shout. Within a minute, the men made their exit on foot. There is a lane near the shop which they used to get away,” Ashok said.

Three mobile phones, belonging to the jewellers, were also taken away by the dacoits.