TSA blames police failure, demands NIA inquiry into Kangpokpi ambush

The Thadou Students’ Association-General Headquarters (TSA-GHQ) has demanded transfer of the May 13 ambush case involving Thadou Baptist Church leaders to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), while condemning the Manipur Police and appreciating the Assam Rifles for its response to the incident.
The ambush took place at Kotlen-Kotzim Inter Village Road under Kangchup Geljang Sub-Division in Kangpokpi district, killing Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sitlhou and two other senior pastors and 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” and alleged bias and failure in handling the incident.
The TSA strongly criticised the Manipur Police, alleging that ethnic divisions within the force had weakened law-and-order response and counter-insurgency operations. The association demanded removal of the Director General of Police, accusing the police leadership of failure in maintaining law and order.
The organisation also criticised Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh and the state government for what it termed delayed and inadequate response to the killings.
The TSA further alleged that injured victims were pressured to shift from a private hospital in Imphal to Kangpokpi Civil Hospital shortly after surgery, describing the move as discriminatory treatment toward the Thadou community.
The organisation also accused certain Kuki organisations of intimidating survivors and attempting to influence narratives surrounding the ambush. It demanded security protection for surviving victims and church leaders.
Describing the ambush as a targeted terrorist attack, the organisation alleged that sections of “Kuki supremacist” groups were responsible for hostility and violence against the Thadou community.
At the same time, the TSA 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 TSA-GHQ placed six “non-negotiable demands” before the government, including transfer of the case to the NIA, protection for surviving victims 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.