A Congress activist was killed at Raninagar in Murshidabad district on Friday, barely 24 hours before rural Bengal votes to select their representatives in the three-tier panchayat system.

The alleged murder of Congress activist Arobinda Mondal, 52, who is the elder brother of a Congress candidate, has raised the toll in the run-up of the panchayat polls to 21.

Police and family sources said Arabindo Mondal and his brothers got involved in an altercation with some ruling party supporters over rural polls that eventually led to a scuffle.

Annapurna Mondal, a relative of the deceased, said: “Some goons who are known as Trinamul Congress supporters attacked Arabindo during the altercation. They began hitting him and one of the goons kicked him on his chest. Clutching his chest, Arabindo immediately slumped to the ground and fell unconscious. We took him to Islampur rural hospital, but he died on the way. Doctors declared him dead on arrival.”

The Trinamul Congress was quick to reject the allegations.

Trinamul’s Murshidabad district committee chairman Apurba Sarkar, however, refuted the allegations.

“The person died due to cardiac arrest and none had hit or even slapped him,” he said.

Incidentally, Mondal’s death happened hours before governor C.V. Ananda Bose paid a visit to the violence-hit areas of Murshidabad district. Bose first went to the house of slain Trinamul worker Mozammel Seikh at Sadekpur village of Nabagram. Later, he went to the house of Congress leader Phulchand Seikh, who was killed in Khargram. The governor held talks with officials of the district administration in Berhampore before leaving for Calcutta by train on Friday evening.

Additional superintendent of police, Lalbagh, Asim Khan said: “We came to know that the deceased person fell unconscious apparently due to sudden excitement. He had a pacemaker. We are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death. However, police will conduct a probe”.

State Congress president and party MP Adhir Chowdhury visited the home of the victim and demanded the arrest of the Trinamul Congress supporters who assaulted the deceased party worker.

In a separate incident, armed assailants attacked Trinamul Congress candidate Saiful Islam with asharp weapon in Krishnapur village of Murshidabad’s Domkol on Thursday night. Police said the incident occurred when the victim was returning home after a party meeting. He was later admitted to the Domkol sub-divisional hospital.

In Deganga of North 24-Parganas, Trinamul and Congress supporters clashed at Amulia village unleashing panic on Thursday night.

Several bombs were hurled during the clash injuring five persons, including a two-year-old girl was injured.

Police have recovered 10 crude bombs from the spot.