Celebratory firinginjures woman, her grandmother in Varanasi

Varanasi: A 20-year-old woman and her 75-year-old grandmother suffered bullet injuries in celebratory firing during a pre-wedding ceremony in Tilmapur area on Friday night, police said.

ACP Sarnath Vijay Pratap Singh said accused, Dheeraj Tiwari, initially fled the scene but was arrested by Sarnath police later in the night. The illegal firearm was recovered from him, and he was sent to jail after a case was lodged under sections of the BNS and Arms Act on Saturday.

The incident occurred when family members of Nirankar Mishra, whose son's marriage was slated for Monday, and relatives gathered on the terrace for a pre-wedding ceremony on Friday evening.

Eyewitnesses said one guest, Dheeraj, arrived in an inebriated state around 11pm and attempted to open fire with a pistol. However, when it did not fire despite repeated attempts, he brought the pistol down to inspect it. In the process of checking, the firearm went off repeatedly hitting Ayushi Mishra and her grandmother Reena Pandey in their legs.

The incident led to chaos, and Dheeraj fled the scene. Both injured were immediately rushed to a hospital in Maldahiya. Upon receiving information, Sarnath police reached the spot. After gathering details about Dheeraj, police raided places where he might have gone, and by late night, he was arrested, said the ACP.