Kolkata: Suspected Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) activists on May 16 killed a gram panchayat member of the Forward Bloc, partner in the ruling Left Front, in Birbhum district and destroyed at least 20 houses of Trinamool Congress (TC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters in West Midnapore district in continuing post-panchayat poll violence in West Bengal.

The deputy inspector general of police (Headquarters) N C Ghosh said that the gram panchayat member, Nandadulal Mondal, was killed when the attackers hurled bombs at him in his house at Maheshpur village on May 16 morning.

The police rushed to the village, but could not locate the killers.

The incident evoked sharp condemnation from the Forward Bloc state secretary Ashok Ghosh, who described it as 'heinous'.

He alleged that Mondal was killed in retaliation to his victory over CPM in the seat where unity eluded the two Left Front partners in the just-concluded panchayat polls.

In protest, Forward Bloc has called a bandh in the area on May 17.

At least 20 houses of the supporters of Trinamool Congress and BJP were destroyed by CPM supporters during a victory procession in West Midnapore district's Debra police station area, the police said.

It said that the houses destroyed were at Mansinghpur, Kakrasibrampur and Kakramohanpur villages.

The local TC and BJP leaders demonstrated before the Debra police station against the incident, the TC leader, Bibek Mukherjee, said.

PTI