Manipuri musician died of massive internal bleeding after assault in Delhi: Post-mortem report

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 after he confronted a group over noise and commotion outside his house in Kilokari village around 11:30 pm on Sunday.

According to police, the attackers kicked and punched Singh, including repeatedly hitting him on the chest and abdomen after he fell to the ground.

Dr Sudhir Gupta, Chief of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS, said Singh died due to severe physical assault to his chest and abdomen, which resulted in massive bleeding.

The AIIMS post-mortem report 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 after the assault 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 have been 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 on several occasions complained to the owner of a nearby dhaba about noise caused by people gathering there. However, no formal complaint had been received from him regarding the issue.

The dhaba remained open until around midnight and attracted customers from nearby areas as well as students living in the locality, police said.

In his complaint, Singh’s 20-year-old son Yaiphaba said he heard his father shouting and opened the door, after which he saw a group of men kicking and punching him. Singh later returned upstairs but complained of breathlessness before being taken to hospital by his son.

Police are also examining whether there was any racial angle to the incident. So far, the investigation has not found any evidence of racial slurs being used against Singh during the altercation, a police source said.

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.