From correspondents in West Bengal, India, 07:32 AM IST

Two activists of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) were killed Tuesday when they were attacked by armed assailants in West Bengal's Midnapore West district, police said.

Another activist of the CPI-M was injured in the incident that took place in the Salboni area.

The CPI-M alleged that the attackers were Maoists, who had abducted five of their associates Monday morning.

The armed assailants attacked and killed Shakti Sen and Hambir Mandi, and critically injured another CPI-M worker Ranjit Singha, police said.

Two more party workers were missing, the CPI-M said.

Condemning the attacks, CPI-M state secretary Biman Bose said his party will hold statewide protest rallies Wednesday.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)