A 21-year-old youth, who objected to the illegal practice of celebratory firing, was allegedly shot dead by two persons in Budaun, Uttar Pradesh. The youth was shot dead at a wedding, by two brothers of the groom.

The deceased 21-year-old youth was identified as Mohammed Saajim. Saajim was attending a wedding on Monday in Kakrala town when he was allegedly shot dead.

Initially, the cops claimed that the accused were loading a pistol and it accidentally went off, hitting Saajim in the eye. However, later, the cops learned that it was not an accident.

On the day of the incident, Saajim went to attend the wedding of his neighbour with his elder brother. The groom’s brothers- Mahnoor and Aijaj- started firing in the air with a country-made pistol.

Saajim allegedly asked the two men to stop the firing and was shot dead in retaliation. Saajim was rushed to a hospital by his brother and the cops were also alerted, The Times of India reported. All the guests and the groom’s family members fled the spot before the cops could reach there.

The police collected empty cartridges from the venue and recorded the statements of the tent workers. After the preliminary probe, the cops learned that the accused fled immediately after they shot the 21-year-old youth.

Budaun SSP Sankalp Sharma said, “Prima facie, it is a case of celebratory firing, but the FIR is registered as per the complaint given by the victim’s kin. We are checking both the aspects of the case. The accused have used country-made pistols and they will be arrested soon.”