A local Trinamul Congress leader was shot dead at Joynagar in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Monday morning, prompting a group of people to lynch an alleged assailant, officials said.

Saifuddin Laskar, TMC area president of Bamungachi in Joynagar was shot dead near his house by some miscreants, an official said.

Supporters of Laskar, whose wife is a panchayat pradhan, caught one of the alleged assailants and beat him to death, according to locals.

Local TMC leaders alleged that CPI(M) supporters were behind the killing of Laskar.

CPI(M) supporters in nearby areas claimed that supporters of Laskar ransacked their houses and set fire to some after the incident.

Stating that every death is unfortunate, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said that the police must conduct a proper investigation to nab the killers and unravel the conspiracy.

"The murder of Saifuddin Laskar is the result of internal strife within the TMC, it is no use blaming the CPI(M)," he said.

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