In a tragic incident, a 25-year-old woman was killed in celebratory firing during a wedding in Punjab’s Bathinda on Saturday evening, the police said. Kulwinder Kaur, who was pregnant, was shot in the stomach while performing on stage. She died on the spot.
Kulwinder’s husband Harjinder Singh, however, claimed Billa, a friend of the groom, had shot her as she rebuffed his advances. “They had been asking her to get off the stage and join them… but she refused… so they shot her,” he said.
The woman was part of a four-member dance troupe from Bathinda who had come to perform at a wedding in Maur Mandi town.
A video of the incident, which shows her getting shot from close range and collapsing to the ground, is being circulated widely on social media.
The police, however, maintain that it was a case of celebratory firing gone wrong. “Details will be out after postmortem,” said Daljit Singh, a police officer.
A hunt is on for Billa, who fled after the incident. A case of murder has been registered against him.
Eyewitnesses agree with the police. The dancers, they say were performing on stage when the celebratory firing began. A bullet fired by Billa got stuck in his double-barrelled gun and while he tried to unlock it, it had hit Kulwinder, they said.
The music was stopped and police was called in. Kulwinder’s body was sent to the civil hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.
