A grocery shop owner in Shivnagar was shot dead late on Sunday night by three men who had come to his shop, once again highlighting how easy it is for armed men to roam the state capital's streets at night.

Raju Sao (36), a father of three, was closing down his shop at Khemnichak around 10.15pm when three men on a bike approached him. They had an argument after which one of the men hit an employee of Sao's shop with the butt of a pistol. Before Sao could react, the man shot him from close range after which the trio fled.

Sao's house is in the same building, and his family members and another employee rushed after they heard the gunshot. They rushed Sao to the local hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Residents blocked the Khemnichak road on Sunday night and on Monday in protest against the crime; on Monday the protesters also had a minor clash with police personnel.

Sao's widow, Rinku Devi, and their teenage sons and daughter were inconsolable.

"We have come today with his body at Barh, his native place, for his last rites," Rajesh Kumar Jha, Sao's family friend, told The Telegraph on Monday. "The police are not saying anything to us and we are shocked at the way he was killed. There is no question of enmity as Sao was well known in the area for his amiable behaviour. His shop is big; four people work there. The fact that people in Patna roam around the streets with guns and without any fear of the law sends shivers down the spine."

On Saturday, an employee of a private company was kidnapped and beaten for three hours while the assailants' SUV drove around Patna undisturbed.

The cops have made no arrests so far for Sao's murder. Pankaj Kumar, station house officer of Ramkrishna Nagar police station, said efforts were on to crack the case.

"The police have recovered one empty cartridge from the spot and according to our information he was hit by two bullets," SHO Kumar said.

"The police at present don't think that the reason of the murder was the refusal of the deceased to give some items from his shop to the men.

"What is troublesome is that people today (Monday) blocked the road and demanded that the road should be repaired so that patrolling can become frequent," the SHO added. "Though patrolling is done regularly, people claimed that the bad situation of the road leads to the police not venturing much in the area. It is not the responsibility of the police to build roads. People don't understand and create law and order issues when the police are trying to concentrate on solving the case."