Kolkata, July 28 - Suspected Maoist guerrillas Tuesday killed a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activist at Tantidoba in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, police said.

State Inspector General of Police (North Bengal) Kundan Lal Tamta told IANS on phone that the Maoist rebels had called a shutdown in Jalpaiguri to observe the death anniversary of Charu Mazumdar -- one of the founding fathers of the movement in India.

'This is an annual thing. But in the past, there has never been any violence or any forcible attempt to enforce the shutdown. So we are looking at all the angles including whether there was any personal enmity,' Tamta said.

Another police officer said eight or nine suspected Maoists carrying sharp weapons came to the area and started beating up shopkeepers for keeping their establishments open.

'Hearing the commotion, the CPI-M activist came to the spot and was attacked with blunt weapons. Two other CPI-M leaders, who tried to save him, were also injured,' the police officer said.