Uttar Pradesh: Indian bride on the run after firing gun at wedding

Photo showing bride and groom holding flower garlandsGetty Images

Police in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh are on the lookout for a woman who fired a gun at her wedding.

A video on social media showed the woman firing four rounds into the air while sitting next to her husband.

Local police said they have registered a case against the woman, who has been missing since the incident.

Celebratory gunfire during weddings is common in some northern Indian states and often cause injuries and even accidental deaths.

According to Indian law, anyone who uses a firearm “in a rash or negligent manner or in celebratory gunfire”, putting others in danger, could face a jail term or a fine or both.

In 2016, a court in Uttar Pradesh’s capital, Lucknow, had ordered that every case of celebratory firing should be investigated regardless of whether a police complaint had been filed.

According to the Times of India newspaper, the video of the bride was recorded by a relative, who also posted it on social media.

Police told the paper that the woman was “absconding” because she feared arrest.

Last week, a viral video from the western state of Maharashtra showed a sparkle gun backfiring in a bride’s face while she and her husband were posing with them for wedding photos.

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