Manipur Musician Died Of Internal Bleeding After Assault In Delhi: Autopsy

Manipuri musician Chongtham Vikram Singh died of massive internal bleeding caused by severe physical trauma to his chest and abdomen, according to a post-mortem report released on Thursday. The fatal injuries occurred after a group of men allegedly attacked 54-year-old Singh because he had confronted them over noise outside his house in Kilokari village on Sunday.

The alleged attackers used their feet to beat Singh on the chest and abdomen after he fell to the ground, a senior police officer said, adding that the post-mortem findings established the nature of the injuries caused during the assault.

Dr Sudhir Gupta, Chief of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS, said Singh died as a result of severe physical assault on his abdomen and chest, which resulted in massive bleeding. "The person died as a result of severe physical assault on the abdomen and chest, which resulted in massive bleeding and death," Gupta said.

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, with bleeding and blood clots around the fractures. A splenic laceration was also found.

According to police, Singh, who was taken to Holy Family Hospital at around 12:25 am that day after being assaulted and reached the hospital at around 1:30 am, initially responded positively to treatment but subsequently suffered a haemorrhage and died at around 6:32 am.

Police arrested seven men and detained a juvenile, identifying the accused as Bharat Kumar (19), Pramod (26), Ramzan Khan (22), Deepanshu (21), Mohan Vishwakarma (32), Vijay (36) and Mannu (26).

The accused allegedly told police during questioning that they wanted to "teach him a lesson" after Singh objected to noise and commotion outside his home but did not expect the assault to turn fatal.

Singh had on some occasions complained to the owner of a nearby dhaba about the noise caused by people gathering there, a senior police officer said. However, police had not received any formal complaint from Singh regarding the noise.

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

The incident took place around 11:30 pm when Singh went downstairs after hearing a commotion outside his home. In a complaint, the victim's 20-year-old son, Yaiphaba, said that when he heard his father shouting, he opened the door and saw a group of men kicking and punching him. Singh subsequently returned upstairs but complained of breathlessness and was taken to the hospital by his son.

Police are examining all aspects of the case, including whether there was any racial angle. So far, the investigation has not revealed any instance of a racial slur being used against Singh during the altercation, a police source said.

The FIR registered at Sunlight Colony police station on the complaint of Singh's son mentions Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, on murder in circumstances covered by the provision. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)