Be it weddings or birthday parties, celebratory firings have been a persistent practice at these functions, often leading to injuries and even casualties among the attendees.
According to the Delhi police, in the past two years, nine such cases have been registered in which 17 persons have been arrested.
Senior police officers said such incidents have become a common occurrence at social gatherings with persons carrying licensed or unlicensed weapons firing shots in the air and causing injuries to passers-by and guests.
Last month, a 15-year-boy was hit by a bullet after a man fired his gun during a wedding ceremony in south Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri. The boy, who was standing on the stage, suffered gunshot injuries on both his legs.
“People usually carry weapons at social gatherings as a status symbol and fire shots in the air… this often leads to the bullet injuring an invitee or some passer-by… a lot of children also attend these gatherings… The accused persons are mostly in a drunken state,” an officer said, adding that most of these incidents happen on the outskirts of the city as a good number of banquet halls are located there.
On receiving information on such incidents, the police usually book the accused under IPC Sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 302 (murder) and the Arms Act. Officers said that the accused’s weapon license is suspended after the incident.
Last year, the police arrested a man and his friend for firing shots from their rooftop during a birthday celebration in Outer Delhi’s Paschim Vihar. They were booked under IPC Section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others).
In August last year, a Delhi court had convicted four men for allegedly killing a woman during a celebratory firing incident in Outer Delhi’s Narela in 2009. The woman was watching a wedding procession pass through when the accused persons, all inebriated, opened fire that injured her nose. The accused were held guilty under Sections 27 and 30 of the Arms Act.
