Kolkata, Dec 7 (IANS): Two persons were killed in a shootout at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal early Wednesday morning, police said.

The two persons killed in the shootout have been identified as Sajjat Mondal (48) and Sarifuddin Lashkar (31). Both were farmers by profession.

According to local police, the incident took place around 2 a.m in Gourda village under Baruipur (East) Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district.

Mondal and Lashkar had gone to a local fair ground and they did not return home till late hours, the family of the deceased told the police. A couple of hours after midnight, the family members were informed by the neighbours that there had been a shootout in which both of them had been shot.

They were immediately rushed to the Baruipur sub-divisional hospital. While Mondal was declared brought dead, Lashkar succumbed to his injuries during treatment. In his dying statement, Lashkar named one Bulai Mondal as one involved in the shootout, a local police official said.

Bulai Mondal and his family members have been absconding since the shootout took place. However, the agitated locals first ransacked and then gutted the house of the accused. The police are investigating the matter and trying to find out the reasons behind the rivalry that led to the shootout.

Shootout and explosions had been a regular feature in West Bengal during the last few days which has kept the administration tense, especially in backdrop of the polls for three-tier panchayat system in the state scheduled next year, an election which has prolonged history of bloodbaths and deaths.

Recently, on the late night of December 2, three persons were killed in an explosion at the residence of a local Trinamool Congress leader near the ancestral residence of the leader of opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari at Kanthi in East Midnapore district.