Jamshedpur: Former international basketball player P Ratna Rao alias Johnny, who was shot at in Sitaramdera area in the steel city yesterday (Jun 19, 2004), died this morning (Jun 20, 2004).

Rao, who was shot at by three youths, expired at around 10:45 hrs (IST) at Tata Main Hospital, General Manager of the hospital Dr Manoj Kumar said.

Police have already detained Rao's wife Chanda and arrested her alleged paramour on charge of conspiring his murder.

The gunmen who came on a motorbike shot Rao, a senior manager of Tata Steel's sports department and also secretary of Jharkhand Basketball Association (JBA), from close range yesterday as he was about to board his car for office, Circle inspector Akram Alam said.

Rao, who had donned national colours a couple of times in the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship and in the 1982 Junior Asian Basketball Championship at Phillipines, was then rushed to Tata Main Hospital and operated on.

Superintendent of Police Arun Oraon already claimed that an extra-marital affair could be the cause behind the shooting. He said Shivnarayan Yadav, a neighbour of Johnny, was arrested.

Yadav confessed that he had a "relationship" with Johnny's wife Chanda, a nurse at the Tata Main Hospital, for the last two and half years, the SP said.

The arrested person reportedly told the interrogators that he engaged contract killers to eliminate Johnny, following constant pressure from Chanda.