Gunmen kill political leader in India's West Bengal

NEW DELHI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen Sunday shot dead ruling Trinamool Congress party leader Satyan Chowdhury in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, police said.

Chowdhury was fired upon from point-blank range in Berhampore of Murshidabad district, about 199 km north of Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal.

According to locals, Chowdhury was Trinamool Congress party's general secretary for Murshidabad.

"Today a group of men on bikes fired upon 65-year-old Satyan Chowdhury from a close range. The TMC leader was rushed to a hospital for treatment. However, he was declared dead on arrival," a police official said.

Police have registered a case and ordered an investigation into the killing.

"The police are examining closed-circuit television camera footage of the area to identify the assailants," the police official said.