Kolkata, April 01: In separate incidents, a CPI-M activist and a Trinamool Congress worker were killed Friday in poll-bound West Bengal, police said. The Election Commission has voiced alarm over the violence.
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and councilor of Barrackpore Municipality Jamil Akthar was shot dead in North 24 Parganas district.
Jamil was chatting with his friends in a tea shop when a man on a cycle shot him from close range, North 24 Parganas Police Superintendent Rahul Srivastav said.
In a separate incident, Ashok Maitey, an employee of Arambagh Municipality in Hooghly district, was killed.
“Ashok was throttled to death and his body was recovered Friday morning. There were also bullet injuries on his legs,” said Hooghly Police superintendent Tanmoy Roy Chowdhury.
Tapan Dasgupta, Trinamool Hooghly district president, claimed that Maitey was their party worker.
The killings have left the Election Commission worried.
West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta said: “At present, five companies Central Police Force have been deployed in the district but additional security personnel are likely to be deployed from neighbouring districts to prevent any untoward incident during the 24-hour shut-down Saturday called by the CPI-M in the area.”
The six-phase assembly polls are being held ub West Bengal April 18- May 10.
-Agencies