The Trinamul chief of a gram panchayat in North Dinajpur district was shot dead on NH27 on Wednesday afternoon.

Md Rahi, the 59-year-old chief of Panjipara panchayat under Goalpokhor block, received at least three bullet wounds.

Trinamul supporters blocked the highway for three hours in protest against the murder.

Sources said around 2.30pm, Rahi, along with a member of his panchayat,
left the panchayat office and drove his car on the highway. Soon, a gang of criminals on bikes rained bullets on him.

“He was hit by at least three bullets. Three empty cartridges were recovered,” said Kanaialal Agarwala, the Trinamul district president of North Dinajpur.

Rahi was rushed to the local health centre, then a hospital in Kishanganj and finally referred to a private nursing home in Siliguri, but he succumbed to his injuries on way to Siliguri.

After shooting Rahi, the attackers fled towards Kishanganj in Bihar, sources said.

Agarwala said they had no inkling about the motive.