A 35-year-old man was shot dead by four bike-borne assailants at Sidhgora market on Friday afternoon.

The victim, identified as Bablu Jha, was smoking marijuana along with a few others under the canopy of a banyan tree in the marketplace at about 2 pm when the criminals shot him.

Two of the attackers fired one shot each, targeting the victim's chest and as soon as he fell down, the four fled the scene.

The victim was rushed to MGM medical college and hospital but doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Police officials reached the spot immediately and sealed the marketplace to carry out a search operation. The assailants could not be traced in the marketplace.

A resident of No 10 Bustee in Shidhgora, Bablu Jha worked at a canteen in Tata Main Hospital and also drove an autoricshaw at night.

Officer-in-charge of Sidhgora police station, Sandeep Ranjan, said the attack seemed to have been conspired because of an old enmity.

"We have identified two of the assailants by means of CCTV footage gathered from near the murder scene. We are getting the names and address of the two verified and expect to detect the case soon," said Ranjan.

The OC said some of the attackers had visited Bablu at his house in the morning and had enticed him to smoke marijuana on Friday.