Manipuri rock pioneer Chongtham Vikram Singh beaten to death outside Delhi home after objecting to noise

One of the founding figures of Manipur's rock music movement, guitarist Chongtham Vikram Singh, has died after being attacked outside his residence in South Delhi. The 55-year-old leaves behind his wife and son.

Family members have conveyed to Indian outlets, that trouble began close to midnight on Sunday, when Singh walked outside his home in Kilokari and asked a group of men, later identified by police as mostly food-delivery workers, to quiet down. That exchange escalated into a physical assault that left him critically injured.

Singh's son rushed him to Holy Family Hospital in Okhla, but he did not survive the night. Medical staff attributed his death to hemorrhagic shock brought on by blunt-force trauma, per the Indian Express.

Southeast Delhi's Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vineet Kumar, confirmed that all seven adult suspects have been taken into custody along with one minor. He told the Indian Express that officials had personally met with Singh's relatives and community representatives, pledging what he called "prompt and lawful action."

Singh's musical roots ran deep. In the early 1980s he played lead guitar for Phoenix, one of Manipur's most influential rock acts, having gotten his start with a group called Ultra Vires. He later performed with Eastern Dark before relocating to Delhi, where he spent his later years teaching music.

Phoenix frontman Vivek Sharma remembered him warmly to the outlet, describing Singh as someone who worked without seeking the spotlight. He called him "a humble soul with no ego, no animosity, just a peaceful soul who loved music."

Music runs in the family: Singh's 85-year-old mother, Chongtham Kamala, is a celebrated Manipuri playback singer who lent her voice to Matamgi Manipur, the first-ever Manipuri feature film, back in 1972. She still lives in Imphal, where she continues teaching master classes alongside filmmaker-composer Aribam Syam Sharma.

Police say the Sunlight Colony station was alerted via a PCR call reporting the assault; most of the suspects, between 19 and 36 years old, reportedly work locally as delivery agents.

Former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh also reacted publicly, calling on Delhi Police to act quickly and thoroughly investigate the case, while the North East Students' Society Delhi University has separately demanded a fair and swift inquiry.

The North East Students' Society, Delhi University (NESSDU) mourned Singh's passing, referring to him as a widely respected figure in Manipuri music.

In their statement as quoted by NDTV, the group described the sequence of events that led to his death: Singh had gone down from his apartment in Kilokri after noticing six men allegedly drinking and being disruptive outside the building. His request that they keep the noise down, the students' body said, triggered an attack that left him with injuries he ultimately did not survive.

NESSDU called the killing a "senseless act of violence" and pressed authorities to carry out a "swift, fair, and thorough investigation" that holds those responsible to account.