CCTV clips show Manipuri musician beaten to death in Delhi

New Delhi: Manipuri musician Chongtham Vikram Singh, 55, was allegedly chased and assaulted by eight eatery workers in the stairwell of his South Delhi apartment building shortly before he was beaten to death outside his home, police said.

Singh lived with his wife and son on the third floor of a building in the Ashram area of Sunlight Colony. Two CCTV recordings of the incident have surfaced. One shows the accused leaving the building through the staircase, while another shows Singh being taken to the hospital by his family members around 10 minutes later.

According to police, Singh came downstairs at around 11.30 pm on Sunday to dispose of garbage when he noticed a group of people, including workers from nearby eateries and food delivery agents, allegedly creating a disturbance. His objection reportedly led to a heated exchange, Indian Express reported.

Police sources said Singh was then chased up the staircase of his building, where the accused allegedly assaulted him in the stair lobby. CCTV footage shows the group leaving the premises at around 12.06 am on Monday.

About 10 minutes later, at 12.16 am, Singh’s family took him to a private hospital in Okhla. He succumbed to his injuries the following morning.

The Sunlight Colony police have registered a case under Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with mob lynching involving five or more people.

Seven accused have been arrested, while the eighth, who is a juvenile, has also been apprehended.

Four of the accused were associated with Saini Dhaba. Bharat Kumar, 19, and Pramod, 26, worked as food delivery agents, while Deepanshu, 21, and Mohan Vishwakarma, 32, were employed in food packaging.

The other accused have been identified as Ramzan Khan, 22, a delivery agent for New Choudhary Dhaba; Vijay, 36, a delivery agent for Annapurna Dhaba; and Mannu, 26, who worked at the Diamond Pizza kiosk.

Singh was a prominent figure in Manipur's rock music history and had served as the lead guitarist of the state's legendary rock band Phoenix in the early 1980s. He was widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the state's rock music scene.

He began his musical career as the lead guitarist of a band called Ultra Vires. After his stint with Phoenix, he joined another prominent local band, Eastern Dark. He later moved out of Manipur and continued his musical career in New Delhi as a music teacher.

Singh also came from a family with a strong musical tradition. His mother, Chongtham Kamala, was a renowned classical singer from Manipur who was once described as the “Lata Mangeshkar of the Manipuri film industry”.