Chotu asked the men to pay for Gutkha. (Representational)

A 25-year-old shopkeeper was allegedly shot at by a customer who refused to pay Rs 5 for a gutkha pouch he had purchased from the shop.

The incident took place on Wednesday in Aligarh's Madhopur area when Deepak, Tikanna, Pota and Fauzdar went to a shop run by the victim, Chotu Agarwal, to buy a gutkha pouch worth Rs 5.

Mr Chotu asked the four to pay for the gutkha pouch, but they refused. When he insisted on the payment, the four took away Rs 250 from his cash box and thrashed him.

A local resident, Amit, who was standing nearby, came to the victim's rescue. The suspects then opened fire at Mr Chotu who has been hospitalised with bullet injuries.

According to Mr Amit, the suspects also threatened to kill Chotu's family members, if he filed any complaint against them.

An FIR has been registered against the suspects under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 394 (Voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Tappal police station on the basis of a complaint filed by the eyewitness.

A police official said that investigations are on and the accused would soon be arrested.