A Trinamul activist was shot at allegedly after he asked some young motorcyclists not to speed through a crowded village road in Nadia's Kaliganj block on Saturday evening.

Asadul Seikh, 42, suffered two gunshots as a relative of one of the motorcyclists fired him from close range during an altercation in Palitberia village under Nakashipara police station. One bullet pierced his chest.

The critically injured Trinamul leader was rushed to Kaliganj block hospital and then transferred to Nadia district hospital in Krishnagar, where he is fighting for his life.

The incident angered local residents who clashed with police, accusing them of inaction against increasing criminal activities in the area.

The police have so far arrested three persons for their alleged role in the incident.

The police and local sources said trouble broke out when some villagers in Palitberia, including Asadul, intercepted three teenage motorcyclists for speeding through a village road raising clouds of dust.

"It is a road close to the market and there was a crowd in the evening. But the bikers were speeding there, raising dust and creating panic among people. We stopped them and asked them not to speed. But the boys were adamant. Asadul, being senior among us, admonished the boys. The boys, in turn, warned him of dire consequences," recalled a villager.

Residents claimed that these teen bikers, who were residents of a nearby village, returned to the same spot in Palitberia within half an hour with some of their relatives and started beating up Asadul and others.

"We tried to pacify them but one relative of the boys suddenly opened fire. Asadul tried to stop him, but the man fired at him at least twice from close range. One of the bullets pierced his chest," said villager Osman Gani Seikh.

Sources at the Nadia district hospital said that the two bullets had been surgically removed from Asadul, but his condition stayed critical as he had lost a huge amount of blood.

A villager alleged that "bullets nowadays fly even over trivial matters" in their area but the police did nothing to improve law and order.

A senior police official of Krishnagar police district said a probe had begun in this firing case and none of the offenders would be spared.