Kolkata, Sep 20 (IANS): A Trinamool Congress leader was killed by Maoists in West Bengal's West Midnapore district, police said Tuesday. An enraged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it an act of cowardice and said politics of murder will not be allowed to prevail.

"Prima facie, it appears the Maoists are behind the killing of Lal Mohan Mahato, a Trinamool leader. He had registered protests against atrocities by Maoists. It seems he has been killed to instill fear among the villagers," district Additional Superintendent of Police Alok Rajoria told IANS.

Mahato's body was found near a school in Pukuria in Jhargram area. Maoist posters claiming responsibility for his death were strewn around his body.

The killing happened on a day when a team of Maoist sympathisers led by litterateur Varavara Rao is in Junglemahal (Maoist-affected forested areas in western part of the state) on a fact-finding mission about atrocities claimed to be perpetrated by joint security forces.

Rao Monday had demanded withdrawal of joint forces from the area as a step towards building a congenial environment for peace talks with the Maoists.

Banerjee, apart from enhancing the rehabilitation package for Maoists, has constituted a team of interlocutors for facilitating peace talks with the extremists.

Currently on tour to Sikkim, Banerjee said those opposed to peace, development and employment in Junglemahal are indulging in such violence.

"Those who murdered are just cowards. I believe politics of murder will not have the last word," she said.

Trinamool Congress leader and union minister Mukul Roy will lead a protest march in the area Sep 24, Banerjee said.

She also announced a Rs.5 lakh compensation for Mahato's next of kin and government job for a family member.