LoP Rahul Gandhi Pays Tribute to Manipuri Musician Chongtham Vikram Singh at Memorial Gathering
New Delhi, Sept 11 – Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi attended the memorial gathering for Chongtham Vikram Singh ji, a renowned musician from Manipur, and paid tribute to his life and memory at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.
Vikram Singh ji, 54, a nationally acclaimed guitarist and pioneer of Manipur’s western rock movement, was brutally beaten to death at his own doorstep in Kilokari village under Sunlight Colony police station in southeast Delhi late Sunday night, merely for asking a group of youths to keep the noise down. Singh, who originally hailed from Thangmeiband Lourung Purel Leikai in Imphal West, had come to Delhi for treatment as he was unwell and was staying with his wife and 20-year-old son Yaiphaba on the third floor of a house in Kilokari near Ashram. According to police and family, at around 11:30 pm on Sunday, a group of youths, who work as workers, delivery boys and packaging staff of two nearby dhabas opposite his house, were allegedly drunk and creating nuisance outside. When Singh came downstairs to dispose of garbage and requested them to stop, an argument broke out. The group allegedly chased him back into his building, followed him up to the third floor, overpowered him in the corridor and assaulted him with fists and blows before fleeing. His son found him in a semi-conscious state with his T-shirt torn and heard him banging on the door shouting Thong Hango, meaning open the door. He was rushed to Holy Family Hospital in Okhla where he succumbed to his injuries early Monday morning around 6:30 am due to hemorrhagic shock caused by blunt force trauma. A PCR call was received at Sunlight Colony police station at around 1:38 am on September 7 and a case of murder under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered. Police have examined CCTV footage which reportedly shows eight men coming down the staircase after the assault. In the latest development, Southeast Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Vineet Kumar has confirmed that all seven adult accused have been arrested and a minor has been apprehended. The accused have been identified as Bharat Kumar, Pramod, Ramzan Khan, Deepanshu, Mohan Vishwakarma, Vijay and Mannu, along with a 15-year-old juvenile. All of them work at different dhabas and food stalls in Kilokari village. Post-mortem was conducted at AIIMS.
Chongtham Vikram Singh was a pioneer of Manipuri rock. In the 1980s he was the lead guitarist of the legendary bands Phoenix, Ultra Vires and later Eastern Dark. For the last 17 to 20 years he had been living in Delhi, teaching at Delhi School of Music and running his own music school in Kilokari. His mother C. Kamala was one of Manipur’s most celebrated singers, known as the Lata Mangeshkar of Manipur.
At the memorial, LoP Gandhi met the bereaved family, including his son Yaiphaba, and expressed his heartfelt condolences, with the party stating, we stand with his family and loved ones in this hour of grief. Several senior Congress leaders including Jairam Ramesh were present on this occasion.
The incident has shocked the Northeast community in Delhi, with North East Students Society of Delhi University, Manipuri activists and civil society holding a candlelight vigil in Kilokari and demanding swift and impartial investigation. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, while paying her tributes, said, in India’s capital city Delhi, Chongtham Vikram Singh from Manipur was brutally beaten to death.
This racial crime, an act of hate and violence, cannot be accepted at any cost. Today we celebrated the life of an exceptional human being and an acclaimed musician. My sincerest condolences to his family, friends, well wishers and all those people whose life he touched with his music.
