Manipur guitarist beaten to death outside Delhi home for protesting loud music; 8 dhaba workers held

The 54-year-old retired musician, a Meitei, was allegedly attacked by dhaba workers outside his Kilokari residence. Police have also apprehended a minor.

Chongtham Vikram, a Meitei from Imphal, lived with his wife & son, in the Kilokari village of southeast Delhi for more than a decade. | Special arrangement

New Delhi: A 54-year-old retired musician and guitarist from Manipur was beaten to death allegedly by a group of dhaba workers after he objected to them playing loud music outside his residence in northeast Delhi, police said on Monday. Eight people, including a minor, have been apprehended in connection with the attack. 

Chongtham Vikram Singh, a Meitei from Imphal, lived with his family, including wife and son, in the Kilokari village of southeast Delhi for more than a decade.

Vikram’s 20-year-old son Yaiphaba filed a police complaint, following which an FIR was registered under sections 103 (2) (murder) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. 

South East District Deputy Commissioner of Police Vineet Kumar told ThePrint eight people allegedly involved in the case have been apprehended. 

He said all the apprehended accused are workers in a local dhaba and one of them has been confirmed to be a minor.  

Based on Yaiphaba’s complaint, the Delhi Police on Monday registered a case under 103 (2) (murder) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The attack and the accused

In his police complaint, which forms the basis of the FIR, Yaiphaba said that incident happened late at night.  

“On 06.09.26 at around 11:30 PM, I was at my home when I heard my father shouting from outside. When I opened the door and looked outside, I saw four or five boys kicking and punching my father. Seeing all this, I shouted.”  

He further said that the assailants fled the scene when he raised an alarm. He said he saw their faces and can identify them if presented before him. 

“After that, I took a taxi and took my father to Holy Family Hospital along with my mother and friend,” he further documented in the complaint.

He said that on the way to the hospital, his father told him the assailants came from the nearby dhaba. He said they had taken offence to his father’s instructions to lower the music. 

“All those boys had come from the dhaba downstairs, and my father had stopped some of them earlier also for making noise. They kept threatening my father about this,” he said. 

He further wrote in the complaint that after this conversation, his father fainted in the taxi. 

“He died during treatment after being admitted. My father died as a result of the beatings inflicted by these boys. Please, appropriate legal action should be taken against all these boys,” said Yaiphaba, who is pursuing BA, LLB at Asian Law College in Noida.  

According to police officers, his allegations have been found to be true in a preliminary investigation. A postmortem was conducted at AIIMS Delhi, and the report of which is awaited.

“Preliminary enquiry revealed that the deceased was a retired musician and had objected to alleged shouting and nuisance being caused by delivery boys and dhaba staff in front of his residence,” DCP Kumar said in a statement. 

“When Vikram Singh came downstairs and objected to the alleged persons, he was allegedly assaulted with fists and blows. He sustained injuries and was subsequently taken to Holy Family Hospital by his son, Yaiphaba, for medical treatment. During treatment, Vikram Singh succumbed to his injuries,” he further said.

The police have identified the accused as Bharat Kumar (19), a food delivery worker at Saini Dhaba; Pramod (26), a food delivery worker at Saini Dhaba; Ramzan Khan (22), a food delivery worker at New Choudhary Dhaba; Deepanshu (21), who worked in food packaging at Saini Dhaba. 

Mohan Vishwakarma (32) worked in packaging at Saini Dhaba; Vijay (36) as a food delivery worker at Annapurna Dhaba; and Mannu, 26 at a Diamond Pizza kiosk. 

The minor accused is 15.

Meitei Heritage Society issues statement 

Civil society organisation Meitei Heritage Society, said the musician from Manipur was brutally killed “after he reportedly objected to unruly behavior outside his residence”. 

“It is also disturbing that the Delhi Police took a long time to register the FIR, prompting hundreds of people from the region to protest at the Police Station.

This tragic incident is not an isolated crime, but part of a deeply disturbing pattern of violence, discrimination, and targeted attacks faced by people from the North East in Delhi NCR,” it said.

“The  repeated failures of the authorities to prevent assaults, harassment, and killings of North East residents over the years have forced citizens from the North East to live with fear and insecurity in the capital of the country,” it said.

“We urge the Delhi Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure the immediate arrest and prosecution of all remaining perpetrators and to institute stronger measures for the safety and security of North East residents across Delhi NCR,” it said.

(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)