New Delhi:
As the gunning down of five Bengalis by suspected United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) terrorists sparked off stir in Assam's Tinsukia district, a four-member Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation on Sunday visited Kheronibari village to meet the bereaved families of those deceased. The TMC delegation, led by party leader Derek O'Brien, also consists of Lok Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur, Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haq and MLA Mahua Moitra.
"This is a humanitarian visit. This is a visit to stand with the grieving families. We hope to reach Tinsukia in about two hours and spend some time with the families," O'Brien told PTI outside the Dibrugarh airport in Assam. "What has happened is a dastardly killing of the most deprived and poorest Indian citizens... They have been murdered in cold blood," the senior TMC leader added.
In a chilling incident, a group of unidenfied assailants shot dead five individuals of the Bengali community, including three of a family on the banks of the Lohit river at Dhola in Tinsukia district on Thursday evening. However, the ULFA terrorists’ group has denied its involvement in the incident.
Here are the Highlights:
The TMC delegation gave Rs 1 lakh each as compensation to the families of the five people killed by ULFA terrorists
Dhola(Assam): TMC delegation led by Derek O Brien meets families of the five people killed by ULFA terrorists in Tinsukia
Dhola(Assam): TMC delegation led by Derek O Brien meets families of the five people killed by ULFA terrorists in Tinsukia pic.twitter.com/XUP0S2aEQG
— ANI (@ANI) November 4, 2018
Condemning the killing of "innocent people", Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal conveyed his sympathy to the families of the deceased, adding that strong action will be taken against the perpetrators of this dastardly violence. "We will not tolerate such cowardly act," he added. Sonowal appealed to the people of Assam to maintain peace and harmony. He also directed all deputy commissioners and SPs to remain alert.
In the wake of the brutal murder in Tinsukia, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also expressed her anguish, saying an "environment of violence" was prevailing in the country.
The Tinsukia killing has evoked wide condemnations from across India, with protestors called for a 12-hour state-wide bandh, squatting on railway tracks, pelting stones at vehicles and burning tyres on roads in some districts of Assam on Saturday. The bandh was called by the All Assam Bangali Yuba Chatra Federation, All Assam Bengali Students Union and some other like-minded organisations to protest the cowardly attack on five Bengali speaking men at Kheronibari village.
