A 19-year-old woman was accidentally shot in her leg during a celebratory firing at her wedding in east Delhi’s Shakarpur. The woman was rushed to a government hospital where she underwent treatment for four hours and returned to the venue to continue with the rituals. The incident took place half an hour past Thursday midnight. Police said it appears to be a case of “celebratory firing”.
Pooja, with her right leg heavily bandaged, limped around the ritualistic fire seven times (saat phere), to complete her wedding rituals in the presence of over 100 guests, including members of the two families and their relatives, staffers at the venue said.
A family member said Pooja’s wedding with Laxman was scheduled for February last year. But it was postponed as Laxman’s brother died in a road accident, a few days before the wedding.
DCP (east) Pankaj Singh said the bullet was fired by one of the guests from the groom’s side. The man who fired the bullet was identified as Rinku, a florist living with his family in east Delhi’s Shastri Nagar near Geeta Colony.
“Pooja told the police that she did not know Rinku. We have registered a case voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means under Section 326 of IPC and under the Arms Act. Rinku fled the wedding venue after the crime. Our teams are looking for him,” the DCP said.
Pooja’s family members said the firing took place soon after the bride and groom completed the garlanding ceremony on a revolving stage.
“The groom came on to the stage. He was helping my daughter on to the stage when she was shot in the right leg. We initially thought that she suffered an electric shock. But when we found her bleeding, we realised that she was shot,” bride’s mother Jaggo said.
Laxman said he was holding the bride’s hand when a man, dressed in white, fired a bullet and fled. “I don’t know who that person was. Everything happened so fast,” he said.
Pooja’s sister, Asha Sen, said the groom’s brother raised the alarm. “He ran after Rinku while my husband and other relatives rushed my sister to Lal Bahadur Shastri hospital. After four hours of medical attention, we brought Pooja back to the venue to complete the rituals. Around 7am, she left for her in-laws house in Rani Garden near Geeta Colony,” Asha said.
