A Trinamul Congress panchayat pradhan in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district was killed by assailants in a crowded market, police said.

They hurled bombs targeting Rupchand Mondal, TMC panchayat pradhan of Amdanga, at Kamdevpur haat around 7 pm on Thursday when he was speaking on his mobile phone, a senior officer said.

Mondal was taken to a local health facility and later shifted to a private hospital in Barasat where he succumbed to his injuries.

He was killed days after the murder of another TMC panchayat member at Joynagar in neighbouring South 24 Parganas district.

As news of Mondal's death spread, local people and TMC supporters in the area blocked National Highway-34, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits.

Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh visited the area and demanded the arrest of those responsible for fomenting disturbances in the area.

Singh said it appeared to be "a planned murder and police should find out the perpetrators".

Earlier in the week, TMC panchayat leader Saifuddin Laskar was shot dead in Joynagar area of South 24 Parganas district.

TMC spokesperson Joyprakash Majumdar told reporters that the BJP and the CPI(M) have been unleashing a reign of terror in the rural belt of West Bengal in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls next year.

“They are targeting our popular leaders with the sole objective to lessen the strength of TMC ahead of the polls. The opposition gameplan will not succeed," he said.

BJP leader Dilip Ghosh claimed that two factions of the ruling TMC were involved in the murder.

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