Chongtham Vikram Singh, a 54-year-old Manipuri musician and music teacher, died on Monday after a group of men attacked him outside his home in Kilokari village, southeast Delhi. The fight started late at night, apparently over too much noise. The killing shocked the Northeast community, leading to protests and a candlelight march.
Singh lived on the third floor of his building. Around 11:30 p.m. on Monday, September 7, he went downstairs to confront a group of delivery workers and dhaba staff who were drinking and making a racket outside. B. Ruchida Sharma, a Manipuri social activist, said things got ugly fast. The group chased Singh back upstairs, caught him in the corridor, and beat him badly before running away.
His son, Yaiphaba, rushed him to Holy Family Hospital, but Singh didn’t make it. The hospital said he died from haemorrhagic shock brought on by blunt-force injuries.
Delhi Police moved fast—they booked a case under strong sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deal with murder by a group and common intent. Seven men—Bharat Kumar (19), Pramod (26), Ramzan Khan (22), Deepanshu (21), Mohan Vishwakarma (32), Vijay (36), and Mannu (26)—were arrested, along with one 15-year-old boy. Police said all worked at local food stalls as delivery or packaging workers.
CCTV footage from the building, shared online by former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, showed the group leaving the scene right after the beating. Deputy Commissioner of Police Vineet Kumar said senior officers met with Singh’s family to promise quick, fair action.
By evening, about 100 people gathered for a candlelight march, demanding justice. Many in the Northeast community fear a racial angle, though police say they haven’t found proof of that yet.
Manipur Chief Minister Khemchand Yumnam offered his condolences, calling Singh’s impact on music and culture “deeply respected.” MP Bimol Akoijam pushed for tough punishment and spent the day working with police and Singh’s family. Congress MP Pawan Khera blamed the government for letting things get out of hand in Delhi, saying years of ignoring public nuisance had created a sense of impunity. “The government may not have wielded the bat that killed Vikram Singh,” he wrote, “but it cannot escape responsibility for creating the environment that led to his murder.”
Singh was a key figure in Manipur’s Western music scene—lead guitarist for the rock band Phoenix in the ‘80s, later playing with Eastern Dark, and running a music school in Delhi. He was the eldest son of legendary Manipuri classical vocalist Chongtham Ongbi Kamala Devi, and cousin to Lakshmipriya Devi, director of India’s first BAFTA-winning film, Boong.
This case has stirred old worries in Delhi about late-night noise, public drinking, and the safety of people from the Northeast. While police haven’t officially called it a hate crime, community leaders want a fast, transparent investigation—and they want the government to finally take the problems of harassment and discrimination seriously.
