Kohima, October 3 (MExN): The NSCN (IM) on Saturday strongly refuted what it termed “baseless, malicious and fabricated” social media posts alleging the involvement of its cadres in the ambush and killing of three Thadou Baptist Association India (TBAI) church leaders in Kangpokpi district of Manipur.
The NSCN (IM) in a press release clarified that “no NSCN cadres or hands were involved in that tragic incident in any manner whatsoever.”
Rev Dr Vumthang Sitlhou, Rev Kaigoulun Lhouvum and Pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou were killed in an ambush near Kotzim on May 13.
The organisation said it had no knowledge of, connection to or role in the attack, and alleged that pointing fingers at it was a calculated attempt by “vested interests” to disrupt the fragile peace, misdirect the official investigation and create communal disharmony.
It also dismissed the naming of an individual, Chekneichung Chiru alias Achung, in the viral posts as one of its members. There is no such person in the rank and file of the NSCN (IM), it said, calling the inclusion of the name “entirely fictitious, uncalled for and defamatory.”
The organisation said it stood with the bereaved families and the wider Christian community, and expressed respect for the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) takeover of the probe. It extended full support to a transparent, unbiased and thorough investigation by central agencies to bring the actual perpetrators to justice.
The NSCN (IM) urged the public, media houses and social media users to exercise restraint and verify facts before sharing unauthenticated rumours.
It cautioned that it would not tolerate further attempts to malign its image through fake news and reserved the right to counter such propaganda “with all necessary measures.”
