Despite a ban on carrying firearms in marriage palaces, A 25-year-old artiste was allegedly shot dead while she was performing late on Saturday by a reportedly drunk man at a wedding in Maur, approximately an hour’s drive from Bathinda.
A Shiromani Akali Dal leader’s son, who owned the gun and had also been attending the wedding, was among five people booked by police on Sunday.
Rajinder Singh, the husband of the victim Kulwinder Kaur, said his wife was shot by Lucky Goyal when he was stopped from going onto the stage and dance with the women.
A video of the moment spread quickly on the internet, showing Kaur immediately collapsing after being shot in the head from the 12-bore double barrel gun.
Several other people were also seen firing in the air during the celebrations, as is customary in parts of north India. Such celebratory firings claim multiple lives every year.
“The gun is owned by Sanjay Goyal, son of Vijay Goyal. Sanjay was present at the crime scene,” said SSP Bathinda Swapan Sharma. Vijay, a SAD leader, is a former councilor in Maur.
Following the shooting, the members of the wedding orchestra staged a protest, prompting the marriage ceremony to be held under police protection.
Relatives of the killed woman also staged a protest outside the Bathinda civil hospital on Sunday morning demanding the arrest of the suspects, who had fled from the venue after the shooting.
Kaur’s husband also said that she was three months pregnant, though local doctors contradicted the claim.