TMC delegation meets bereaved families, promises all possible help

Kolkata: A four-member Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation arrived in Assam on Sunday and proceeded to Kheronibari village in Tinsukia district where five people were killed on November 1.

Suspected militants gunned down five youths in eastern Assam's Sadiya police district on Thursday.

The delegation, comprising party's Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O' Brien and Nadim-ul Haque, Lok Sabha MP Mamatabala Thakur and MLA Mahua Moitra, reached Dibrugarh Airport on Sunday morning and proceeded to the village.

A delegation comprising the bereaved family members of the victims accompanied by the Trinamool Congress leaders will also meet President Ram Nath Kovind. An appointment has been sought from Rashtrapati Bhavan in this connection.

It may be recalled that five Bengalis — Shyamlal Biswas, Ananta Biswas, Abhinash Biswas, Subodh Das and Dhananjay Namashudra – were gunned down by unidentified miscreants at Tinsukia.

The Trinamool Congress delegation has extended all support including a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to each family.

The delegation "expressed their solidarity to let them know that the Bengal government and the people of the state are with them all the time."

"This is a humanitarian visit. This is a visit to stand with the grieving families," O'Brien said.

Moitra said: "They should not feel insecure in their own country… We condemn this act where we have seen that people were targeted for the community they belong to. This is indeed shameful for a country like ours which is the largest secular constitutional democracy in the world."

It may be recalled that the delegation of the Trinamool Congress was not allowed to enter Assam when they went there after exclusion of the 40 lakh people in the final draft of the Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) in July.

But this time, they went to the spot and spoke to the bereaved family members.

The delegation members "assured the family members that the TMC is with them in this hour of grief, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured support to help them".

The family members were inconsolable during their interaction with the Trinamool Congress leaders.

The members visited three different houses and spent nearly 30 minutes with each family.

They assured them that "the culprits of this hate crime will be brought to book".

The delegation also visited the spot where the incident took place and also found blood stains there.