Dacoits shot a businessman and robbed his companion of Rs 65,000 before jumping off a moving train between Guma and Habra stations, in North 24-Parganas, on Wednesday morning.

The five-member gang surrounded 30-year-old Babu Das, a resident of Minta, also in North 24-Parganas, soon after the Sealdah-Bongaon local left Guma around 7.30 am.

When Das refused to part with the money, one of the dacoits shot him from point-blank range, said a Government Railway Police (GRP) officer. The five men then robbed Babu’s friend Gautam Das who, along with 20 others, was witness to the murder, and jumped off the compartment.

“The gang members snatched a bag containing Rs 65,000 from Gautam, who was standing next to Babu, jumped off the train and fled,” said superintendent of railway police (Sealdah) Barun Mullick.

The passengers raised an alarm and informed GRP personnel about the incident. Babu was taken to Barasat General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Mullick said that for the past couple of months, the dacoits had been threatening Babu with dire consequences if he did not pay them protection money. “A preliminary investigation revealed that the criminals had been following Babu since he left home in Minta. He and Gautam were on their way to pay a rice dealer,” said a GRP official.

Gautam had offered to hand over the money as soon as the dacoits surrounded Babu, according to a GRP officer, but they did not listen to him.

The cops suspect the gang has been extorting businessmen for over a year.