Kolkata, Nov 18 (IANS) Two men were found shot dead near a forest area in West Bengal's Maoist-hit West Midnapore district Wednesday and police said they suspected that the guerrillas had killed them.

'We've got reports that two bodies were found near Mohanpur area in Lodhashuli forest region this (Wednesday) morning. We've already sent our teams to the spot,' West Midnapore Superintendent of Police M.K. Verma told IANS.

'The identity of the two is not yet known,' he said.

Preliminary investigation showed that the two were shot dead from a close distance. They were also injured by sharp weapons, Verma said.

'We assume that both of them were killed by suspected Maoist guerrillas,' he said.

West Midnapore is about 200 km from state capital Kolkata.