Imphal, May 18: The Thadou Students’ Association-General Headquarters has demanded that the May 13 ambush on Thadou Baptist Church leaders in Kangpokpi district be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), while strongly criticising the Manipur Police and appreciating the response of the Assam Rifles.

The ambush occurred along the Kotlen-Kotzim Inter Village Road under Kangchup Geljang Sub-Division in Kangpokpi district, killing Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sitlhou and two other senior pastors, besides injuring five others.
In a press statement issued by TSA-GHQ spokesperson Vicky Thadou, the organisation accused the Manipur Government of “criminal neglect, terror shielding and anti-Thadou discrimination” in its handling of the incident.

The association alleged that ethnic divisions within the Manipur Police had weakened law-and-order response and counter-insurgency operations. It demanded the removal of the Director General of Police, accusing the police leadership of failing to maintain law and order in the state.

The organisation also criticised Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh and the state government for what it described as a delayed and inadequate response to the killings.
TSA-GHQ further alleged that injured victims were pressured to shift from a private hospital in Imphal to Kangpokpi Civil Hospital shortly after surgery, terming the move discriminatory towards the Thadou community.

The association also accused certain Kuki organisations of intimidating survivors and attempting to influence narratives surrounding the ambush. It demanded adequate security protection for surviving victims and church leaders.
Describing the attack as a targeted terrorist act, the organisation alleged that sections of “Kuki supremacist” groups were responsible for hostility and violence against the Thadou community.

At the same time, TSA-GHQ expressed gratitude to Assam Rifles personnel, including Major Sahil Rishi, Captain Nando Babu, Colonel Radha Krishna and Brigadier Pratyush Kumar, for their “swift and life-saving intervention” following the attack.

The organisation placed six “non-negotiable demands” before the government, including transfer of the case to the NIA, protection for survivors and church leaders, action against organisations accused of intimidation, overhaul of the Manipur Police leadership, public acknowledgment of the targeted killing of Thadou Church leaders by the Chief Minister, and an end to alleged discrimination against Thadou people in Imphal.