Behrampore, July 23: Reprisal attacks in Murshidabad have claimed four political workers from three parties a day after the panchayat elections, according to police.

Two Congress workers, one CPM and a Trinamul activist died.

The Bengal government has urged the Centre to allow a part of the central forces to stay for a fortnight from July 29 after the state election commission made such a request apprehending violence.

In two incidents, political activists barged into the victims’ homes and killed them. The day’s first murder in Murshidabad happened around 6am when Congress worker Azizul Sheikh, 55, was shot dead by suspected CPM cadres who broke into his house.

Officers who went to the slain Congress worker’s house from Ranitala police station said preliminary investigations had revealed that the murder was the result of an altercation between Congress and CPM workers at a polling booth in Natungram village yesterday.

“It appears that today’s attack was the fallout of some heated exchange between CPM and Congress workers outside a polling booth yesterday. We are probing the matter,” a police officer said.

An hour later, another Congress worker, Pairuddin Sheikh, 40, was killed outside his house when alleged CPM workers hurled bombs at him in Lakshminarayanpur village in Ranitala.

A police officer said Pairuddin was part of a group of Congress workers that clashed with CPM activists in the village last night after voting ended.

“We think the CPM activists attacked Pairuddin in revenge,” an officer said.

The district CPM has denied involvement in both the attacks.

At Bidupara village in Shaktipur, a group of suspected Congress workers broke into the house of Trinamul activist Nakibuddin Sheikh and hacked him to death.

Police officers termed the murder an act of reprisal as there were allegations of Trinamul activists hurling bombs at houses of local Congress workers last night.

The Congress said its workers were not involved.

The fourth death in Murshidabad today was reported around 1.30pm in Sankopara village of Farakka, where suspected Congress workers hurled bombs at CPM workers.

Fatik Sheikh, 35, a CPM worker who the police said was on the side of a road with party colleagues, was killed on the spot.

The police said a clash between Congress and CPM activists had happened in Sankopara last night.

Another CPM worker, Mantu Mondal, 35, died early today at Behrampore Medical College and Hospital. Mantu was injured when he was beaten up with rods by alleged Congress activists yesterday.

Junior railway minister and district Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury blamed the CPM and Trinamul for the deaths of Congress workers.

“The CPM and Trinamul are behind the deaths of Congress workers here. We have no faith in the police. We want to tell the chief minister not to allow any more violence in the state. We will watch for a few more days and then launch a movement,” Adhir said.

The CPM district secretary, Mriganka Bhattacharya, blamed the Congress, saying the party’s activists had been “perpetrating violence in the district under instructions from Adhir Chowdhury”.

Trinamul leader and former minister from Rejinagar, Humayun Kabir, said that Adhir had visited Shaktipur yesterday to provoke Congress workers in the area.

The police have arrested 17 persons, including two local committee secretaries of the CPM, in connection with the killing of two Congress workers in Ranitala.

“We are carrying out raids to arrest those responsible for the other deaths,” said Humayun Kabir, the Murshidabad superintendent of police.