A Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation led by party leader Derek O'Brien on Sunday met the families of the five people who were killed by United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) terrorists.
The delegation, comprising TMC Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Mamata Bala Thakur, Rajya Sabha legislator Nadimul Haq and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Mahua Moitra, announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to be paid to the kin of those who were killed.
Earlier, Trinamool Congress had on Friday said they will organise protest rallies across West Bengal against the killings in Assam.
"In protest against the brutal killings in Assam @AITCofficial will organise protest rallies tomorrow ( Fri Nov 2) in different parts of north and south Bengal including Siliguri and Kolkata," West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said in a tweet Thursday night.
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The deceased, identified as Ananta Namasudra, Abinash Namasudra, Subal Das, Dhanai Namasudra and Syamal Biswas from the Bengali community, were killed at around 7 pm on November 1 in Bishnoimukh village near Dhola-Sadiya Bridge.
A group of assailants had called out six people at Kheronibari village — three from their home and as many from a local shop — around 8pm on Thursday.
They then took them to the edge of Dhola-Sadiya bridge in the area and opened indiscriminate fire, killing five of them on spot.
One of them fell off the bridge and survived the firing. The lone survivor in the incident, identified as Sahadeb Namasudra, told reporters Friday morning he had a "providential escape" as he fell off the edge of the bridge, where the gunmen had lined up the six persons and shot five of them dead.
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Though he did not sustain injuries, he fell unconscious out of fear and nervousness.
On regaining consciousness, he found one of the five persons still alive beside him, Namasudra claimed, adding that the man died before any arrangement for help could be made.
Publicity Department member of the ULFA(I) Romel Asom, in a statement e-mailed to here, said, "The ULFA (I) would like to make it clear to all authorities concerned that our organisation does not have any involvement in the firing incident last night."
State Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had condemned the attack and directed law enforcement agencies to take stringent action against the culprits.
The All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation had called for a 12-hour shutdown in Tinsukia town as a sign of protest against the killings.
The ULFA is a separatist outfit operating in North-East India for the indigenous Assamese people. Their main aim is to establish a sovereign Assam with an armed struggle.
The central government had banned ULFA in 1990 citing it as a terrorist organisation, while the United States Department of State lists it under "other groups of concern." (ANI)
