2-yr-old sitting on balcony killed in celebratory firing during wedding in Noida

A two-year-old boy, who was watching a wedding procession snake through his congested Noida neighbourhood on Sunday night, was killed after the revellers fired a few shots as part of celebratory firing and struck him in the head, police officers said on Monday.

Police said Ansh Sharma, the deceased, lived with his family at Aghapur village in Noida, Sector 41. Investigators said that the wedding procession was coming from Gurugram to Noida, adding that two suspects — identified only by their first names of Happy and Deepanshu, both residents of Gurugram — are currently on the run.

Sharing details, the boy’s father Vikas Sharma said that his family had moved from Ashok Vihar in Delhi to the Aghapur area in Noida only around two weeks ago.

“On Sunday, at around 8.50 pm, my family and I were in our third-floor house, watching from our balcony a wedding procession that was passing through the neighbourhood. As we were watching the celebrations, two people suddenly fired multiple shots in the air,” he said.

“Moments later, blood started profusely coming out of his head, and he collapsed. After a few seconds, I realised that bullet hit him,” he added.

The family and their neighbours rushed the boy to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead. On the father’s complaint, a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and the Arms Act was registered at the Sector 49 police station, officers said.

A video that has emerged on social purportedly showed three men clamber onto a groom horse-drawn chariot, before two of them drew guns and started firing in the air.

HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video

Deputy commissioner of police (Noida) Ram Badan Singh said they suspect that it was a bullet fired by Happy that led to the two-year-old’s death.

“Suspects Happy and Deepanshu are both residents of DLF Phase 1 in Gurugram. They are friends of the groom… During our investigation, it was revealed that Happy’s bullet hit the boy. After the incident, he has been on the run, and three teams have been formed to nab him,” the DCP said.

Police are also probing whether the two suspects had a licence to carry firearms.