Toddler’s death in Noida celebratory firing: Second accused nabbed

A man was arrested for accidentally killing a toddler during celebratory firing at a wedding in Noida; an illegal pistol was recovered.

A 25-year-old man who killed a two-and-a-half-year-old boy in celebratory firing during a wedding procession in Noida on February 16 was arrested on Saturday, police said.

An illegal .32-bore pistol was recovered from his possession, police said. (Representational image)

The accused was identified as Hitesh alias Happy, a resident of Nathupur village, DLF Phase 3, Gurugram, Haryana. He was arrested near the service road behind Noida Sector 47 as an illegal.

A 32-bore pistol was recovered from his possession, police said. His accomplice, Deepanshu Kumar, 24, a second-year law student and a resident of DLF Phase 3, Gurugram, was arrested on February 19 in Sector 47.

“Happy was on the run after killing the boy but our team tracked him down and arrested him. His accomplice, Deepanshu, is already in jail. We have recovered the illegal pistol from Happy’s possession which was used in the celebratory firing that led to the unfortunate death of a child. We urge the public to refrain from reckless use of firearms during celebrations, as such negligence can lead to irreversible tragedies,” said Sumit Kumar Shukla, additional deputy commissioner of police, Noida.

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The incident took place on the night of February 16 when a wedding procession from Gurugram arrived in Aghapur village.

Happy and Deepanshu, both friends of the groom, fired gunshots into the air to mark the celebration, police said.

One of the bullets struck two-and-a-half-year-old Ansh Sharma, who was watching the procession from his father’s lap on their house balcony.

Based on a complaint from the victim’s father, Vikas Sharma, a case was registered at the Sector 49 police station under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 3/25/27 of the Arms Act.