A day after a Manipuri musician was allegedly beaten to death by a group of people in southeast Delhi’s Kilokari village, the Congress launched a scathing attack on the Centre over the law and order situation in the national capital.
Chongtham Vikram Singh, 54, was allegedly assaulted by a group of delivery workers and dhaba staff after he objected to them shouting and consuming alcohol outside his apartment on Monday morning. He later succumbed to his injuries at Holy Family Hospital.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the incident, describing it as a “chilling reminder” of what he called the “utter lawlessness under the Bharatiya Janata Party” and demanding strict action against those responsible.
Citing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Kharge said Delhi had become a “crime capital” under Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“Students are unsafe. Women face atrocities every day. People from Northeast India face discrimination. Dalits, Adivasis and minorities remain highly vulnerable,” he said in a post on X.
Kharge also criticised the Narendra Modi government over the situation in Manipur, saying people from the state were suffering both within and outside the state.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also targeted the Centre over Singh’s death, saying the killing had raised concerns among families from the Northeast living in Delhi.
“What are Shah’s MHA and Delhi Police doing to stop this growing lawlessness, especially against people from the Northeast? There must be a swift investigation, and the culprits must be brought to justice. My condolences to Vikram ji’s family,” Gandhi wrote on X.
Another Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Pawan Khera, attributed the incident to what he described as a culture of impunity created by those in power.
“The government may not have wielded the bat that killed Vikram Singh. But it cannot escape responsibility for creating the environment that led to his murder,” Khera said.
Delhi Police, meanwhile, have arrested seven people, including a juvenile, in connection with the incident. Police have also launched a wider investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assault and Singh’s death.
