Amid simmering tension after the killing of five Bengali youths, a team of Trinamool Congress leaders from West Bengal visited the families of those massacred by the outlawed Ulfa(I) rebels in Assam and vowed to strengthen their voice in bringing the perpetrators of the crime to book.

Five members of the Bengali community, including two of a family, were picked up and killed by Ulfa(I) rebels on Thursday night in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district.

The delegation comprising Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O’Brien and Nadimul Haq, Lok Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur and MLA Mahua Moitra told reporters that they visited the aggrieved families on the instructions of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has expressed anguish over the killing and said an environment of violence was prevailing all over the country.  The members of the delegation also gave Rs 1 lakh to each of the families as compensation. Assuring the families all help, the delegation also promised that the TMC would stand by Bengalis in Assam.

Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government had taken the TMC delegation’s visit positively as any political party had the right to visit victims of an attack.

The Assam police has, meanwhile, intensified its counter-insurgency operations in the Upper Assam district. Sources however said the Ulfa(I) rebels suspected to be involved in the crime may have crossed over into Myanmar.