A leader of the Thadou tribe from Assam who attended a peace meeting in Manipur on August 6 was allegedly kidnapped, tortured and killed by Kuki militants on Saturday. In multiple statements, Thadou organisations alleged "Kuki militants and supremacists" do not want the Thadou tribe to assert their distinct status as not under the Kuki umbrella, and at any cost do not want peace to return in neighbouring Manipur where the Meitei community and the Kukis are in conflict since May 2023.
Nehkam Jomhao, 59, chairman of the Thadou Literature Society, was tortured and killed at his house in Manja in Assam's Karbi Anglong district, Thadou civil society organisations said in statements.
The brazen murder happened despite Thadou organisations in Assam complaining to the state police about threats by Kuki militants since last year, the Thadou organisations said. They alleged the murder of the civilian by Kuki militants in Assam indicated these militants want to enlarge the Manipur crisis and make it spill over to neighbouring states.
"He was tortured by five suspects from Assam's Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA). He managed to run to his neighbour's house for help, but they came after him with a dao (machette) and struck him on his head," a Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) leader told reporters on Sunday. "They hit the critically injured man till he died. Then they threw his body into a river."
Five suspected Kuki militants have been arrested by the Assam Police, sources said. They have been identified as Samsom Kuki, Jangpu Hangsing, Mangeo Sitlhou, Thangmoi Hmar, and Kakap Lienthang.
Nehkam Jomhao was part of a Thadou tribe delegation that visited Manipur's capital Imphal on August 6 and shared a stage with civil society organisations from the Meitei community. The event was seen as a significant step at demonstrating the resilience of the common people in overcoming hate and misunderstanding, the attendees had told reporters.
They said the bold step taken by the Thadou delegation comprising leaders from many states, however, led to Kuki militants issuing threats to them. Thadou Inpi Manipur leaders have said their community leaders from neighbouring Assam came to the 'Road to Peace' meeting in Manipur voluntarily because they believed in peace, and wanted to assert the tribe's distinct identity which is not under the Kuki umbrella.
"Pu Nehkam Jomhao has fallen, but his voice will never be silenced. His martyrdom will inspire generations to come," Thadou leader T Michael Lamjathang Haokip said in a post on X.
"... His only 'crime' was participating in the Road to Peace - Covenant of Community Understanding held on 6th August 2025 in Imphal, a noble initiative aimed at fostering peaceful coexistence between the Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) and various Manipur CSOs," Mr Haokip said.
"Nehkam Jomhao was martyred for his commitment to peace, dialogue, and the dignity of his people. He was one of the most sincere, bold, hardworking, and dedicated Thadou leaders I have ever met. A man of courage, he stood unwaveringly for the future of his community, and for the ideal of unity in diversity. Today, he has paid the ultimate price at the hands of terrorists who deliberately target innocent Thadou leaders and peace advocates," he said.
"This barbaric act was perpetrated by armed cadres from two Kuki militant groups, the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) and the United Kukigam Defence Army (UKDA), and was masterminded by UKDA chief Janglen Kipgen and KRA chief Janglun Hansing," the Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) said in a statement on Sunday.
"We have received harrowing reports that Mr Jomhao was tortured inside his home by suspected KRA cadres, members of a group under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement. Unable to endure the torture, he fled to a neighbour's house for help. The attackers pursued him and struck him with a dao (machete) at the back of his head, causing a massive haemorrhage. They continued their assault, brutally beating him until his death..." TIM said.
It said the presence of KRA and UKDA camps directly within Manja village under the SoO agreement is a serious breach of peace.
"By settling militants in a civilian population area, the government's policy has created a climate of danger and instability," TIM said.
Thadou Inpi Condemns Kuki Terrorism and Demands Justice for the Murder of Thadou Leader Nehkam Jomhao; Outlaw Kuki SoO militant groups@NIA_India @himantabiswa @assampolice @DGPAssamPolice @karbianglongpol @DimahasaoPolice pic.twitter.com/zsmGdMQzOn
— THADOU INPI MANIPUR (@ThadouInpi_MN) August 31, 2025
The Thadou Community International (TCI), a global network of the Thadou tribe, said for decades they have been facing relentless suppression and persecution, particularly at the hands of militant groups aligned with Kuki organisations.
"The assassination of Pu Nehkam Jomhao, a respected intellectual and peace advocate, is not an isolated act of violence but part of a long-standing pattern of targeted oppression, intimidation, and cultural genocide against the Thadou tribal Christian community. This tragedy has exposed the failure of governance and the dangerous appeasement of Kuki militant groups under the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement in both Assam and Manipur. These groups have repeatedly misused their position to wage war, suppress indigenous voices, and impose a reign of terror. Such impunity is unacceptable in a sovereign, democratic nation like India," the TCI said in a statement shared with reporters.
Meitei civil society organisations condemned the killing of the Assam Thadou leader and called for decisive action against Kuki militants who are operating with impunity in Assam, misusing the SoO agreement. Manipur's Kuki militants also have a separate SoO agreement.
"Nehkam Jomhao was a respected intellectual and community leader who stood for the dignity of Thadou identity, for justice, and for peace - not just for his own people, but for all communities of Assam, Manipur and the whole of northeast. His tireless efforts to bridge divides and foster harmony had already invited repeated threats and intimidation from KNA and other anti-peace militant groups linked to Manipur's Kuki militant groups under SoO agreements. His killing is not only an attack on his life but an attack on peace, dialogue, and the very idea of coexistence in Manipur and the northeast," the Meitei Alliance, an umbrella body of civil society organisations, said in a statement on Sunday.
It said the cold-blooded murder of Nehkam Jomhao exposed the futility and danger of protecting militant groups under flawed agreements. "Continuing down this path will only embolden violence and silence voices of peace," the Meitei Alliance said.
Meitei Alliance Condemns and Calls for Justice for the Cold-Blooded Murder of Thadou Leader Mr. Nehkam Jomhao and Calls on the Governor of Manipur to Reject Renewal of SoO Agreements.
— Meitei Alliance (@Me1teiAlliance) August 31, 2025
May his soul rest in peace. @RajBhavManipur @manipur_police @AmitShah @adgpi pic.twitter.com/QxCnkYUv8i
Other Meitei civil society organisations that condemned the murder of the Thadou leader and called for immediate action against Kuki militants include Meitei Heritage Society, Delhi Manipuri Society (DeMas), Ningols United Progressive Initiative (NUPI), and Team Meitei Personalities (TMP).
"Since the start of the crisis, peace advocates from Chin Kuki Zo have been systematically targeted, silenced, and eliminated by Chin Kuki militants simply because they raised their voice for peace and understanding between communities," the four Meitei organisations said in a joint statement.
"Defying death threats, the Thadou tribe openly rejected the Kuki supremacist ideology to wipe out the identity of individual tribes to advance their nefarious design to break Manipur. This is also a wake-up call that Kuki militants and their supremacist ideology is a threat to the existence of all other tribes as it aims to obliterate the existence of their distinct identities," they said.
They also expressed concern that the murder happened despite the Thadou Students Association (TSA) and community members complaining to the Assam government for immediate intervention against threats by Kuki militants, namely the Kuki Liberation Army/Kuki Liberation Organisation.
OBITUARY MESSAGE
— Thadou Students' Association (@TSA_GHQ) August 30, 2025
August 30, 2025
With deepest sorrow and heavy hearts, the Thadou Students' Association-General Headquarters (TSA-GHQ) mourns the tragic and untimely demise of Pu Nehkam Jomhao (59 years), Chairman of the Thadou Literature Society (TLS), who was brutally abducted... pic.twitter.com/RWspqJpnnx
Jalun Haokip, a member of the Thadou tribe from Manipur living in Australia, said the bold actions taken by Thadou leaders with great risk to their lives in pushing back against Any Kuki Tribes (AKT) and Kuki supremacists are successful in demolishing Kuki supremacist narratives.
"There's an urgent need to push back against Kuki supremacy. No one knows better than Thadous like myself and true Thadou leaders about the reality of Kuki supremacist agenda that has caused havoc not only to Thadous but all people of Manipur. I'm glad it has been exposed to an extent but much more needs to be done for people to know the full extent of it," said Jalun Haokip, who himself faced death threats on social media for highlighting what he alleged was Kuki persecution of the Thadou tribe.
"I've been observing the radicalisation among some who identify as Kuki, and their hostility toward the Thadou people is deeply concerning. The death threat I received on Facebook yesterday is a stark example of this violent mindset. It's not an isolated incident; the Kuki persecution against Thadou is widespread and ongoing," the Melbourne-based Thadou social worker said in a post on Facebook.
In November 2024, the Thadou tribe in what its leaders called a "historic" event released a 10-point declaration to protect the tribe's distinct identity and heritage amid the ethnic crisis in Manipur. Leaders and delegates of the Thadou tribe from across the country and abroad, and leaders of Mizoram-based organisations had attended the Thadou Convention in Assam's Guwahati.
The Thadou Convention's declaration on the first of the two-day event emphasised on the tribe's distinct ethnic identity having its own language, culture, traditions, and history.
"Thadou is not Kuki, or underneath Kuki, or part of Kuki, but a separate, independent entity from Kuki... Thadou is one of the original 29 native/indigenous tribes of Manipur, India, that were all simultaneously and duly recognised as independent Scheduled Tribes of Manipur under the 1956 Presidential Order, Government of India," the declaration stated.
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