The victims’ ethnic identities remain unconfirmed, but the incident has raised concerns about the spillover of Manipur’s ethnic conflict into the national capital.
BY PC Bureau
August 3, 2o25: Two students from Manipur—identified as Zerry and Shepherd—were critically injured in a stabbing incident in Delhi’s Vijay Nagar area on July 31, 2025, around 4 a.m. The attack took place while the duo was purchasing bottled water from a nearby shop.
According to initial reports, four bike-borne men approached the students, initiated a verbal altercation, and used abusive language. The confrontation quickly escalated, with one of the attackers stabbing Zerry in the abdomen and Shepherd in the left buttock. Their friend, Paoboi, who was with them at the time, rushed both victims to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital for emergency medical care.
Delhi Police promptly registered an FIR at the Model Town Police Station. Leveraging CCTV footage, mobile call records, and inputs from local informants, the police arrested two suspects—Krishna and Krishna Kashyap—and apprehended a juvenile. During interrogation, both adult suspects reportedly confessed to the crime. None of them had prior criminal records. A fourth attacker remains absconding as the investigation continues.
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While the victims are repeatedly described as “students from Manipur” or “from the Northeast,” their specific ethnic affiliations—whether Meitei or tribal (Kuki-Zo, for example)—remain unspecified in official or media accounts. This ambiguity may reflect an effort to avoid fanning tensions between ethnic groups in Manipur, where conflict between the Meitei majority and Kuki-Zo tribal communities has raged since May 2023.
The capital has witnessed incidents reflecting these simmering tensions. In May 2023, Kuki students in Delhi’s North Campus were assaulted and allegedly threatened with rape by a group of Meitei students, close to the same Vijay Nagar locality. Such incidents have left Northeastern students feeling unsafe and often reluctant to speak their native languages in public.
While the motive behind the latest attack remains unclear, the victims’ Manipuri origin and the location’s troubled history raise pressing questions. So far, no direct link to the ethnic conflict has been established by Delhi Police.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh is leading the investigation. Though the suspects’ lack of criminal history and the spontaneous nature of the attack suggest a non-premeditated crime, any conclusions about motive await further inquiry.
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The episode underscores the vulnerable position of Northeastern students in mainland cities, especially amid the shadow of Manipur’s unresolved conflict. Whether this stabbing was an isolated incident or a symptom of a deeper malaise remains to be seen—but the fear it has reignited is real.
