Bihar: 26-year-old dancer shot dead during celebratory firing at wedding

4 female dancers from Muzaffarpur performed at the wedding of a retired army man’s son. They continued dancing despite the chaos caused by celebratory gunfire

Darbhanga: A 26-year-old female dancer was shot dead on Saturday during celebratory firing at the wedding of a retired army personnel’s son in Jogiyara village, under the jurisdiction of the Jale police station in Bihar, police said.

Despite the chaos caused by the gunfire, the dancers continued to perform, police said. (Representational image)

Around four female dancers from Muzaffarpur were performing at the event while celebratory firing reportedly continued, an officer familiar with the matter said.

Despite the chaos caused by the gunfire, the dancers continued to perform, the officer added.

One of them, identified as Ayesha Khan, sustained a bullet injury to her abdomen during the wedding event, Sadar-2 sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Jyoti Kumari said.

Her body was sent to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) for postmortem.

The family hosting the wedding, who are allegedly involved in the celebratory firing, fled the scene after locking their house. A search is currently underway, and the matter is under investigation, the officer said.

“All the dancers, including the deceased, were from Muzaffarpur. Notably, two of them were sisters, and one is a niece of Ayesha Khan,” the officer added.

A week ago, the Supreme Court disapproved of the practice of celebratory firing, calling it “dangerous and illegal” while hearing an appeal by a man whose bullet killed a person during celebratory firing at a wedding in March 2016. The court said that even if there was no intention to kill, causing fatal injuries due to celebratory firing would attract punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years.