Tinsukia killings: Four-member TMC delegation arrives in Assam
Dibrugarh (Assam), Nov 4 : A four-member Trinamool Congress delegation arrived here on Sunday morning and headed to Kheronibari village in Tinsukia district to meet the family members of the five people killed by suspected militants.
Led by Derek O'Brien, the TMC parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha, the team comprises the party's 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 reporters outside the airport here.
Unidentified gunmen in battle fatigue shot dead five individuals, including three members of a family, near the village in the district on Thursday night.
Strongly condemning the incident, the senior TMC leader said, "What has happened is a dastardly killing of the most deprived and poorest Indian citizens... They have been murdered in cold blood."
On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed anguish over the killings and said an "environment of violence" was prevailing in the country.
A TMC delegation of six MPs had gone to Silchar on August 2 to assess the situation in Assam in the wake of the publication of the complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on July 30, but was stopped at the airport.
They were not allowed to leave the airport and were sent back the next day.
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On Eid, Shia Muslims in MP denounce killing of Khamenei; chant slogans against US, Israel
Bhopal (PTI): Most members of the Shia Muslim community refrained from celebrating Eid on Saturday as they denounced the killing of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israel strikes, and chanted slogans against the two countries in protest.
However, members of the Sunni Muslim community celebrated the festival with fervour by flooding Eidgahs across the state to offer prayers.
Eid is being celebrated across the country on Saturday.
After offering namaz, Shias raised slogans against the United States and Israel for their attack on Iran.
To register their protest against Khamenei's killing, some of them arrived at the prayer grounds in Bhopal and elsewhere in the state wearing black armbands and dressed in simple and old clothes, reflecting a sombre mood.
Children from the Shia community were also seen wearing black armbands.
A photograph of Khamenei was placed at the Imambara in the state capital.
Khamenei was killed in the last week of February. He belonged to the Shia community.
During the address, Maulana Razi-ul-Hasan spoke about standing up against oppression.
Talking to PTI over phone from Burhanpur, All India Shia Samaj state president Iftikhar Ali, popularly known as Jaani Pahalwan, said, "After offering namaz at Sidhipura Imamiya Masjid and thereafter raising slogans against US- Israel, I returned home. My community and I are not celebrating Eid."
He said he was not celebrating the joyous festival due to the Israel-US excesses in Iran.
Around 4,000 Shia families in the state are largely concentrated in Bhopal, Jabalpur, Indore, Vidisha, Ujjain, Burhanpur, Itarsi in Narmadapuram district and Jaora in Ratlam district, he added.
Sunnis celebrated the festival across Madhya Pradesh by offering namaz in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, and other places.
In Bhopal, their city Qazi Syed Mushtaq Ali Nadvi announced the celebration of Eid after the moon was not sighted on Thursday.
The first namaz was offered at the Eidgah at 7.30 am on Saturday, followed by prayers at Jama Masjid and Moti Masjid.
A special prayer was held at Taj-ul-Masajid under the supervision of Maulana Hassan Sahib where a large number of people were present.
