A young Ranchi restaurateur, who survived an abduction and an attempted abduction in the past, miraculously escaped being killed on Saturday night by a pistol gang whose members simply appeared to be amateurs.

Family members of Luv Bhatia (29) lodged an FIR at Lalpur police station on Sunday morning after they received a fresh threat call from an unlisted number.

Police have procured the audio clip, which asks Luv's father Ashish Bhatia to pay up to prevent future bids on his son's life, and are looking for one Shiv Sharma. A surveillance camera footage of Saturday night obtained from Lalpur Chowk shows three men on a bike, but the images are too blurred for identification.

The incident took place around 9.55pm on Circular Road in front of Kaveri Restaurant, one of the many hotels and eateries owned by the Bhatia family in Ranchi and situated barely half a kilometre from the city DSP's residence.

"I had come out of the restaurant to attend nature's call. Suddenly, I was accosted by two men who aimed a pistol at my chest. One of them cocked the gun twice and pressed the trigger, but it did not fire. I grabbed the opportunity, pushed them aside and ran towards my restaurant, screaming and raising an alarm. They fled, riding pillion on a red bike waiting for them a few metres away," Luv recalled.

Soon after the incident, father Ashish Bhatia received a call from the number 7033516779. The caller identified himself as Shiv Sharma and demanded money, without specifying an amount, to spare Luv's life.

Bhatia told police he had received several calls from the same number on Saturday evening, but had not picked up since he was busy and the number was unlisted.

Apparently, some reporters too received calls from the number and the caller identified himself as Shiv Sharma of Dhanbad. He gloated that he had killed gangster Santosh Singh (a member of the notorious Bhola Pandey gang) in Ranchi in August. He said the Bhatias should pay up or Luv would be targeted again.

"We have registered the FIR under Sections 385 (intimidation with the intent of extortion), 387 (causing fear of death or of grievous hurt in order to commit extortion), 307 (attempt to murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act," said city DSP Shambhu Kumar Singh.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the calls made to Bhatia originated from Bihar.

"We have procured the audio clip of the conversation. It seems to be the job of amateurs. The gang was ill-equipped. The men carried only one single-shot pistol, which again did not work. We are not sure if the pistol was loaded at all," said a senior officer, adding that the CCTV footage from Lalpur Chowk only showed the trio fleeing on a red bike. "Faces can barely be seen."

This was the third unnatural event involving Luv Bhatia in the past eight years. In 2009, the businessman was kidnapped by the dreaded Chandan Sonar gang. Three members of the gang were gunned down by police in an encounter to rescue Luv from a house in HEC Township. In 2012, another unidentified gang had made an abduction attempt.

Police said they were probing possible involvement of the Sonar gang and another led by one Luvkush Sharma since they had no record of anyone called Shiv Sharma.

How can police vigil be beefed up against armed gangs?Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com