Social bodies condemn killing of Thadoi leader Nehkam Jomhao; seek NIA probe, ban on Kuki militants

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaSeptember 3, 2025

Several Thadou and allied community organisations have condemned the killing of Thadou leader Nehkam Jomhao in Karbi Anglong and demanded strong action, including an NIA probe and a ban on Kuki militant groups.

Jomhao was killed on August 30 at his residence in Manja village by cadres of the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), United Kuki Democratic Army (UKDA) and Kuki Liberation Army (KLA). His body, reportedly mutilated, remains missing. Seven militants have been arrested and confessed to the crime, but community leaders pointed out that the masterminds, including the heads of the outfits, are yet to be apprehended. Two of those arrested are residents of Manipur who had joined the Kuki militant groups.

Community representatives recalled that Jomhao was part of a Thadou delegation that attended a “Road to Peace” meeting in Imphal on August 6. Thadou Inpi later clarified that the delegation represented only the Thadou people and not the Kuki community. Following this, however, several Kuki organisations allegedly issued social boycotts, violent threats and hate campaigns against the Thadou leaders.

The Thadou Inpi, Karbi Students’ Association, Dimasa Students’ Union, Thadou Students’ Association and Thadou Women’s Association said the incident was not an isolated act but part of what they described as a long pattern of persecution and “cultural genocide” of the Thadou people by Kuki supremacist groups. They accused the groups of acting with impunity, celebrating acts of violence, and openly warning of more such attacks.

The organisations also underlined the symbolic importance of Manja village, which was gifted by the Karbi community to the Thadous during the Kuki-Thadou violence of 1992–93. They noted that Jomhao’s own brother had been a victim of Kuki aggression during that conflict.

Tracing the background of tensions, the groups said Kuki militants had summoned Thadou Students’ Association leaders in May 2024 and ordered them to dissolve. A complaint submitted to Assam Police in November 2024 yielded no action. In March 2025, the groups reportedly banned the Hun-Thadou Cultural Festival, and in April, the Kuki National Assembly-Assam conducted an “unlawful census” of Thadou households, declaring Thadou delegates “enemies of the Kuki people.”

In their statement, the organisations warned that the unchecked rise of Kuki militant activity posed a serious threat to peace in Assam. They drew parallels to earlier ethnic clashes, including the Kuki-Thadou conflict in the 1990s and the Kuki-Karbi clashes in 2003, which had left lasting scars on the region.

The groups demanded the immediate arrest of all leaders and cadres responsible for Jomhao’s killing, the recovery of his body, and the handing over of the case to the National Investigation Agency. They further called for flushing out Kuki militants from Karbi Anglong and other parts of Assam, scrapping the Suspension of Operation agreement with the KRA, UKDA and KLA, and declaring the outfits as terrorist organisations. They also urged the government to ban all Kuki militant and “anti-peace” organisations.

As a tribute to Jomhao, the organisations proposed the creation of a peace memorial park in Karbi Anglong, to be named the Nehkam Thadou Peace Memorial Park. They said such a gesture would honour him as a martyr for peace and send a message of resilience against violence.