Uttar Pradesh: FIR Against Bride For Celebratory Gunfire At Wedding

A bride's celebratory gunfire at her own wedding in Uttar Pradesh has cost her an official police complaint. After Rupa Pandey partook in the firing of a revolver on May 30, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against her, as per police. The incident took place in the Jethwara area, reports said. A video of the firing incident has gone viral on social media.

The firing took place before the garland exchange ceremony, Superintendent of Police Ashok Tomar said as quoted by PTI. The license of the revolver is reportedly being cancelled post the incident. The FIR has been filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and Epidemic Act.

Bride's Celebratory Gunfire Gets Her An FIR: Shooting Mishaps In The Past

Celebratory gunfire was a common tradition at marriages in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar until 2019 when the Parliament passed a bill deeming it a punishable offence. The Arms Act states the "use of firearms in public gatherings, religious places, marriages or other functions to fire ammunition" carries two-year imprisonment, one lakh fine or both.

In February 2018, two successive incidents of celebratory wedding gunfire resulted in people's deaths. In one, a 21-year-old groom was killed by a stray bullet during his baraat in New Delhi. In another, a woman neighbour reportedly died when the bride's father next door shot a gun into the air as pre-wedding celebrations.

In December 2019, the days preceding the passing of the Arms Bill amendment saw similar injuries and deaths, with a woman in Muzaffarnagar incidentally being shot the same day Lok Sabha passed the bill.

Though measures have imposed control over the use of firearms at weddings, gunfire incidents at weddings in northern India still abound. A day ago, May 31, a man attending his cousin's wedding in Kanpur, UP was shot dead. As per reports, police attributed his death to celebratory firing.