A birthday bash turned into a nightmare with three youths being shot dead over the smearing of cake as part of the celebrations organised at a gym in Bulandshahr's Khurja town on Saturday night.

Police said Jeetu Saini, the gym owner and trainer, was hosting his birthday party at the facility in Subhas Nagar. His friend Manish Saini coated his face with cake, leading to an altercation during which Jeetu and some of his unidentified friends whipped out their guns and fired at Manish and two others.

Rushed to a hospital by their friends around 1am, Manish, 25, Akash Saini, 24, and Amar Deep, 25, were declared dead by the doctors.

Antariksh Jain, superintendent of police of Bulandshahr rural, told reporters that Jeetu and his accused friends were absconding. "We have taken into custody some people and formed teams to identify and arrest others. The youths died of excessive bleeding from bullet injuries," he said.