A gang of seven to eight armed robbers barged into a branded jewellery store in Raniganj town on Sunday in broad daylight and got involved in a gunfight with police when a team of cops arrived at the spot and tried to intercept them.

The gang, which entered the store around 1.30pm, failed to loot anything as people in the busy market area raised an alarm and the police arrived promptly.

The goons and the police exchanged several rounds of bullets. Sources said one of the robbers suffered a bullet injury but all of them managed to escape in three motorbikes.

While escaping, the goons on two-wheelers intercepted a private car at gunpoint in Asansol town, 12km away from Raniganj, and forced the owner driving it to get off. When car owner Nayan Dutta refused, he was dragged out and shot in the leg.

Dutta was going to attend an event with his family and the incident occurred in front of them.

Two goons escaped in the car with the injured robber while others fled in two motorbikes. One motorcycle was left behind by the goons.

Dutta was taken to Asansol district hospital by his wife and local people.

The police said all neighbouring police stations were alerted. The motorcycle left behind bore a number plate registered in Durgapur regional transport office, they said.

The police added they recovered empty cartridges from the spot and were studying CCTV footage of the store.

A store employee said that the armed dacoits barged into the shop around 1.30pm after overpowering the armed guard and opened fire in the air to intimidate the employees and customers.

"They spoke Hindi and had covered their faces. They asked us to turn back and lie on the floor," said the employee. "But the cops arrived within 10 minutes, as the goons were trying to stuff jewellery in bags. The gunfight started, and so they couldn't take the jewellery."