Bridegroom shot after ‘jaimaal’ in Bihar’s Bhojpur district, cops suspect love affair behind killing

The bridegroom had got down from the stage after the ‘jaimaal’ when a youth pumped bullets into his chest and walked away on foot.

A marriage turned into tragedy when an unidentified youth shot dead the bridegroom immediately after the jaimaal (exchange of garland) ceremony at Pilapur village of Jagdishpur sub-division in Bhojpur district, 80 kms south-west of Patna.

Bridegroom Sudhir Singh who was shot dead in Bihar's Bhojpur district on Saturday. HT photo

The bridegroom, Sudhir Singh, 22, a resident of Uttardahan panchayat of the same sub-division, had got down from the stage after the jaimaal ceremony, when a youth emerged from the dark and pumped bullets into his chest. The killer walked away on foot, as Singh slumped to the ground and lay in a pool of blood. He was rushed to the Ara sadar (district) hospital, where doctors declared him dead, late Saturday evening.

Police suspect the killing to be the result of a spurned love affair.

Singh, the only son of his mother, a widow, was supposed to marry Susum Kumari, daughter of one Sudeshwar Singh of Pilapur on Saturday.

The victim’s cousin, Azad Singh, had lodged an FIR with the local police on Sunday.

Superintendent of police, Bhojpur, Kshatranil Singh said the police had recorded the statements from both sides - the bride and the groom. The motive behind the killing was unclear, he added.