18-year-old woman dancer dies in celebratory firing

PATNA: Despite the strict advisory issued by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), there has been no let up in cases of death due to celebratory firing. In a fresh incident, an 18-year-old woman dancer died due to celebratory firing at a marriage ceremony at Viratpur village under the Sonbarsa Raj police station area in Saharsa district in the wee hours of Thursday.
The victim was identified as Akriti Singh, who was hired along with four of her companions by the family members of the bride to entertain the guests. Saharsa SP Rakesh Kumar said Akriti was dancing on stage when a bullet fired by a guest as part of celebratory firing hit her on the head. “All the guests fled the spot soon after the incident. An FIR was lodged with Sonbarsa Raj police station by deceased’s maternal uncle against the bride’s elder brother, Ashish Singh, and other unknown people,” he said, adding the orchestra group is owned by one Dilip Yadav.
“The bridegroom is a chartered accountant posted in Bangalore,” the SP said, adding raids are on to arrest the other accused people. The SP said no empty cartridge was recovered from the spot. Meanwhile, a villager, who claimed that he had attended the wedding function, told TOI over the phone that the incident took place around 3am.
“At 11pm also, three people from bridegroom’s side had fired at least 20 rounds in air in an inebriated state,” he said, adding the bridegroom’s father is a lawyer in Saharsa town while bride’s father, Chawal Singh, is a farmer.
On Tuesday night, a youth had died due to celebratory firing at a marriage function near Sadaqat Ashram under the Pataliputra police station area in Patna.