By  Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati :A delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders arrived in Assam on Sunday to meet the family members of those who were killed by suspected militants in Dhola. The group led by Derek O’ Brien, the TMC parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha,comprised of the party’s Lok Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur, Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haq and MLA Mahua Moitra. The delegation travelled to Dibrugarh, from where they directly went to Tinsukia. Amid strict security the delegates visited the families of the victims. Five Bengalis are killed in cold blooded murder in Assam, sparking off a wave of protests and political controversy as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee links it to the National Citizens Register issue. Is there a link to the NRC as Mamata Banerjee claims, or is this cynical politics? Suspecting that the delegation might instigate the people or vice versa, heavy security had been deployed along with the group of MPs. Unidentified gunmen shot dead five individuals, including three members of a family, near Kheronibari village in Tinsukia district on Thursday night. Condemning the incident on Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed anguish over the killings and said an “environment of violence” was prevailing in the country.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed anguish over the killings and said an “environment of violence” was prevailing in the country. The party has announced a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh each for the families of the victims.In Guwahati, Assam finance minister and BJP’s key strategist for northeast, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said the Assam government has taken the TMC delegation’s visit positively since any political party has the right to visit terror attack victims. Mr Sarma said it’s time for Mamata Banerjee to actually help the BJP find a solution to the citizenship amendment bill.TMC leader Derek O’Brien termed his meeting today with the families of the victims killed in Assam’s Tinsukia as one of the “saddest days” of his public life. “Heart wrenching Sunday morning,” he took to Twitter today. Speaking to the media outside the airport in Dibrugarh, TMC leader Derek O’Brien said, “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.” Strongly condemning the shooting of the five Bengalis in Tinsukia, news agency PTI quoted Mr O’Brien, “What has happened is a dastardly killing of the most deprived and poorest Indian citizens… They have been murdered in cold blood.Even as the TMC delegation is set to visit Tinsukia, it remains to be seen how successful their move would be. Six lawmakers of the TMC had visited Assam’s Silchar on August 2 in the wake of the publication of the complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on July 30. The TMC delegation, however, was stopped at the airport and not allowed to leave. They were sent back to Kolkata the next day. Police sources in Assam, however, have informed that this time, the TMC delegation will be allowed to come out of the airport and meet the victim families but under heavy security presence.