A newly elected TMC panchayat member was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, police said on Saturday.

Another person accompanying him was critically injured after being shot at and is undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The police, however, are investigating whether the murder was fallout of political rivalry or personal enmity.

The incident took place when Magrahat East gram panchayat member Maimur Gharami was returning home late on Friday night, a police officer said.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on him and to ensure his death, stabbed him with a sharp object, he said.

Shahjahan Molla, a man accompanying Gharami, rushed to his aide but was also shot at.

The two persons were taken first to Magrahat rural hospital, and later to Diamond Harbour Government Medical College and Hospital, where Gharami was declared dead by the doctors, the officer said, adding that Molla is undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Trinamool Congress swept the recently concluded three-tier panchayat elections in the state. Several deaths were reported in poll violence.

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