A 43-year-old medicine trader was shot dead by three unidentified men on Monday morning.

Police sources said the victim, Anil Agarwal, had opened one of his two wholesale medicine shops located at Sharda Enclave along Govind Mitra Road under the jurisdiction of Pirbahore police station around 9.15am. He was going through few documents when a man entered his and the duo had a short discussion.

All of a sudden, the man took out a gun and shot Agarwal in his chest from close range. Anil was bleeding profusely but managed to come out of his shop and cry for help. As he moved out, two more men who were waiting outside the shop, fired at Agarwal who died on the spot. The assailants then fled away on foot.

Three days back, a youth was stabbed to death in a park by a group of men in Rajendra Nagar.

"Anil, along with two of his brothers, used to run a couple of wholesale medicine shops," an officer at the Pirbahore police station told The Telegraph. His family members said Anil went to the shop a bit earlier than usual on Monday.

"Based on talks with his family members, it has come to light that being a Monday, Anil went to the shop early than usual as he had to study some business-related documents. His brothers, Manish Agarwal and Amit Agarwal, were set to join him within half-an-hour. Normally, their shop opens around 10am. Being early morning, there were very few people on the road. As the men shot him and fled, some people noticed Agarwal lying in a pool of blood. He was rushed to PMCH, the nearest hospital from the spot. The man was declared dead by the doctors," an officer at the Pirbahore police station, told The Telegraph.

Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj said all angles into the case were being looked into.

"Though the police cannot disclose much, some images have been recorded by the camera installed in the building just opposite the shop and they are being checked. The family has not talked about any extortion calls until now. However, it has come to light that the victim had an argument with a group of men a few days back. The reason of his murder is being ascertained," the officer said.

The family members refused to speak to the media.

Anil is survived by his wife Jyoti and 10-year-old son Harsh who were inconsolable along with his other family members at their residence located at the Abulaas Lane. The residence of the Agarwals' is located 300m from the shop.

The Govind Mitra Road has got more than 400 medicine shops.

"The police post of the Pirbahore police station is located at a distance of just 50m from the spot. However, there were no policemen at the post despite the order that cops need to present at all the time for the security of the business community. As people came to know of the incident, the shops downed their shutters . We have given a deadline of 72 hours to the police to act and arrest those involved or we will go for an indefinite strike," Santosh Kumar, the secretary of the Patna Chemists and Druggists Association, told The Telegraph.

Sources claimed that evidence, which include fingerprints and cartridges, had been sent to the forensic science laboratory.

"The police have found one empty cartridge inside the shop while two more outside. Finger prints and blood samples have been sent to the forensics. The police hope to get a breakthrough soon," an officer of the Pirbahore police station said.