Thadou Students’ Association demands NIA probe into deadly ambush that killed Manipur church leaders’

The Thadou Students’ Association (TSA) has strongly condemned the ambush on a group of Thadou Baptist Church leaders at Kotlen–Kotzim Inter Village Road in Kangchup Geljang Sub-Division of Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on May 13, 2026, in which Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sitlhou and two other senior pastors were killed while five others sustained injuries.

In a detailed statement issued following the incident, TSA described the attack as an act of terrorism and alleged criminal negligence, communal bias, and administrative failure on the part of the Manipur Government led by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh.

The organisation expressed appreciation to personnel of the Assam Rifles, including Major Sahil Rishi, Captain Nando Babu, Colonel Radha Krishna, and Brigadier Pratyush Kumar, for their intervention during the aftermath of the ambush. TSA alleged that deep ethnic divisions within the Manipur Police prevented immediate response from state forces and accused the police leadership of failing to maintain law and order.

The association further criticised the Director General of Police, alleging that counter-insurgency personnel were being reduced to logistical support roles instead of conducting active anti-terror operations. TSA claimed there was widespread public dissatisfaction over the handling of security under the present police administration.

The student body also accused the Manipur Government of failing to take substantive action even several days after the killings. It alleged that the silence of Deputy Chief Ministers Nemcha Kipgen and Losii Dikho, both of whom TSA said had close ties with the Thadou Baptist Association and the deceased church leader, reflected discrimination and abandonment of the Thadou community.

TSA further alleged that the state government had avoided explicitly identifying the victims as Thadou Church leaders and accused the administration of appeasing what it termed “Kuki-Zo supremacist groups.” The organisation also criticised the silence of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum and the Kuki-Zo Council over the incident.

The association additionally raised concerns over the treatment of the injured survivors. According to TSA, the victims were allegedly pressured to leave a private hospital in Imphal shortly after surgery and shifted to Kangpokpi Civil Hospital under security escort. TSA termed the move discriminatory and claimed it reflected restrictions on Thadou people accessing medical treatment and living freely in Imphal.

Referring to the Thadou-Meitei Community Understanding reached on August 6, 2025, TSA stated that despite the absence of direct tension between the Thadou and Meitei communities, members of the Thadou community continued to face restrictions imposed by the state administration. It also claimed that the Thadou Baptist Association Church at National Games Village in Langol, Imphal, remained unharmed during the ethnic crisis, which the association cited as evidence that hostility against Thadou people originated from Kuki militant groups rather than Meitei or Naga communities.

The organisation further alleged that Kuki organisations attempted to pressure survivors into attributing responsibility for the ambush to Naga groups. TSA claimed such actions were aimed at diverting attention from the actual perpetrators and creating fresh ethnic tensions in the state. It demanded protection for survivors and called for an immediate halt to what it described as intimidation and forced narrative-building.

In its statement, TSA also alleged the existence of a broader campaign of identity erasure against the Thadou community. It accused Kuki supremacist groups of attempting to subsume Thadou identity under a larger Kuki identity through social organisations, churches, and militant influence. The association linked the killing of Thadou peace activist Pu Nehkam Jomhao in Assam in 2025 and the recent ambush to what it termed a continuing pattern of targeted violence against the community.

The student body also referred to ongoing efforts by Thadou church leaders, including the late Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sitlhou, to promote a distinct Thadou Bible separate from the Kuki Bible published by the Bible Society of India and initiatives associated with the Trinitarian Bible Society in London.

TSA stated that despite the killings, the Thadou community conducted the burial of the three church leaders peacefully and without disruption. It alleged that attempts were made by certain Kuki groups to bury the deceased at a “Kuki-Zo Martyrs Park” in Phaijang, but that Thadou church leaders opposed the move.

The association said the community remained committed to peace and the rule of law. It referred to a public statement by the son of Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sitlhou, who reportedly expressed forgiveness in accordance with Christian beliefs while seeking justice through legal means.

TSA has demanded the immediate transfer of the case to the National Investigation Agency for an impartial investigation, round-the-clock security for surviving victims, strict action against organisations accused of intimidation, removal of the Manipur DGP, and an end to what it described as discriminatory treatment of Thadou people in Imphal.

The association warned that continued inaction, communal bias, and failure to address the killings could deepen mistrust among communities in Manipur and further destabilise the state.