Bengal: Local TMC leader shot at, succumbs to injuries in hospital

A local Trinamool Congress leader died in a hospital, hours after being shot at by unidentified miscreants while returning home in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased, Altaf Sheikh, who was the headmaster of Nowadapara Madrasa, succumbed to injuries at the hospital here in the morning, they said.

He was shot from a close range at Raninagar area around 9.15 pm on Tuesday.

"We have initiated an investigation and search is underway to nab the culprits," a senior police officer of the district told PTI over phone.

Sheikh was a CPI(M) leader before he joined the TMC.

“The possibility of the involvement of opposition parties in the killing cannot be ruled out, as there is an attempt to create an atmosphere of unrest ahead of the panchayat polls," alleged TMC leader and MP Shantanu Sen.

Rural polls in Bengal are due this year.