An attempt by three armed men to extort traders ended up giving them comic relief. The men had been pestering the jewellers in Moradabad city in the state of Uttar Pradesh to pay them protection money (Rs 20,000 per shop) every month.

On November 15, to show they meant business the three men drove to the jeweler's street on a bike and tried to fire warning shots in the air to spread panic. But alas, nothing went according to the script. The locally manufactured country pistols failed to fire and the thugs were seen struggling to make them go off. They finally succeed in firing shots in the air, but when the rider moved his bike, the two men sitting behind tumbled down the bike. The three men got up awkwardly and drove off having delivered their message. Police identified the men from the CCTV footage and traced them quickly. The main accused Rishab Gupta has been arrested and two others Akash Sharma and Golu Sharma are on the run. A jeweler Pawan Kumar Rastogi said despite the antics, local businessmen were tense and had asked the police for adequate protection. Police officer Sagar Jain said the thugs were drunk and were traced within 10 minutes.