Manipuri musician Chongtham Vikram Singh died of massive internal bleeding caused by severe physical trauma to his chest and abdomen after he was allegedly assaulted by a group of men in southeast Delhi, according to his post-mortem report.
The 54-year-old musician was allegedly attacked around 11.30 pm on Sunday after he confronted a group over noise and commotion outside his house in Kilokari village. Police said the attackers kicked and punched Singh, including repeatedly hitting his chest and abdomen after he fell to the ground.
Dr Sudhir Gupta, Chief of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS, said Singh died from severe physical assault to his chest and abdomen, which resulted in massive bleeding. The post-mortem found fractures of the first to 11th ribs on the left side and the sixth to ninth ribs on the right side, along with bleeding and blood clots around the fractures. A laceration to the spleen was also found.
Singh was taken to Holy Family Hospital at around 12.25 am and reached the hospital at around 1.30 am, police said. He initially responded to treatment but later suffered a haemorrhage and died at around 6.32 am.
Police have arrested seven men and apprehended a juvenile in connection with the case. The accused were identified as Bharat Kumar, 19, Pramod, 26, Ramzan Khan, 22, Deepanshu, 21, Mohan Vishwakarma, 32, Vijay, 36, and Mannu, 26.
According to police, the accused told investigators that they wanted to “teach him a lesson” after Singh objected to the noise but did not expect the assault to turn fatal. Police said Singh had complained several times to the owner of a nearby dhaba about noise caused by people gathering there, although he had not filed a formal complaint.
In his complaint, Singh’s 20-year-old son Yaiphaba said he heard his father shouting and saw a group of men kicking and punching him after opening the door. Singh later returned upstairs but complained of breathlessness before his son took him to hospital.
Police are also examining a possible racial angle. A police source said the investigation had so far found no evidence of racial slurs being used against Singh during the altercation.
An FIR registered at Sunlight Colony police station on the complaint of Singh’s son includes Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with murder in circumstances covered by the provision.
