The 48-year-old man who was shot at when he tried to prevent a gang from snatching his motorcycle on Kalyani Expressway on Sunday night died at hospital early on Tuesday.

Bibhuti Ghosh, who was manager of a nursing home in Calcutta, died at JNM Hospital in Kalyani, prompting police to change the attempt to murder case to a murder case.

Ghosh’s wife Tanusree, who had spoken to her husband at the hospital, said: “He told me that three men had attacked him after a long chase. He tried to resist them but they shot him in his abdomen from close range.”

He was returning home to Kutubpur in Bhatpara, North 24-Parganas, riding his motorcycle when the gang accosted him near the Panpur crossing on Kalyani Expressway.

Ghosh parted with his wallet and mobile phones on being threatened at gun-point. When the gang asked for his motorcycle, he resisted. The men shot him in his abdomen.

However, none of the items was missing when the police reached the spot and shifted a profusely bleeding Ghosh to hospital.

“The assailants did not take his motorcycle, mobile phones and wallet. Even after he fell unconscious, the assailants escaped leaving all the items behind. This suggests the gang had a specific plan to kill him,” Tanusree said.

She was, however, clueless why her husband could be killed.

The police, too, said after a preliminary investigation that it did not appear to be a case of snatching. Officers suspect the murder was the fallout of an old enmity.

A team from Bhatpara police station visited Ghosh’s house on Tuesday and took away his two mobile phones.

An investigating officer said: “It appears that the deceased had an old enmity with the killers. We will examine his call records in search of clues. Initially, it seemed to be a case of snatching. But now it looks like a cold-blooded murder.”

Sources at JNM Hospital said Ghosh suffered a cardiac attack at the intensive care unit.

Medical superintendent Avijit Mukherjee said: “The patient was in a critical condition as the bullet had ruptured his intestine. He lost a lot of blood before he was admitted to the hospital. A team of doctors under Rashbehari Hembram tried their best to save him but the cardiac arrest turned fatal.... The patient was also critically diabetic, which worsened his condition.”

Pushed off train

A gang allegedly pushed Sourav Majhi, 29, off a train after snatching his mobile phone near Garifa station, in North 24-Parganas, on Tuesday afternoon. Residents of the area rescued the Asansol resident and took him to Naihati State General Hospital. A case has been started. No one was arrested till late on Tuesday.