KATHMANDU: In one of the daring broad daylight robbery attempts, a gang of motorcycle-borne assailants shot at the proprietor of Sunrise Money Exchange at Thamel in Kathmandu on Thursday.

SP Ganesh KC, in-charge, Metropolitan Police Range at Hanumandhoka, told The Himalayan Times that the gang first attacked Nanda Kumar Shrestha (38) with a knife from behind before firing a shot.

The victim was cycling down the congested gully at Jyatha on the way to his office in Thamel at around 3 pm when he came under attack.

The assailants were two in number. SP KC said that they shot at Nanda Kumar, hailing from Kharelthok of Kavre, but were unsuccessful in their bid.

"However, they were unsuccessful to rob him after Shrestha put up a brave resistance in response," said KC. A relative of Shrestha claimed that he had Rs 400,000 on his bag when the incident occurred. It was not immediately known who were chasing him.

A special squad dispatched from Metropolitan Police Sector at Sorhakhutte has recovered a Pulsar brand motorcycle (Ba 23 Pa 3778) used by the unidentified gang and a bullet shell from the incident site. The gang also fired a bullet in the sky to frighten off the passerby and the locals.

They had managed to flee the scene leaving the motorcycle behind when the police arrived. Panic has gripped the area following the shootout. The locals blamed the incident on security lapse in a busy thoroughfare.

Nanda Kumar, who sustained a bullet injury in left leg and knife-wound in spine, is undergoing treatment at TU Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj. The police have arrested four suspects.