Law student held for toddler’s death in Noida wedding firing

A 24-year-old law student was arrested on Wednesday morning in connection with the tragic death of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy who was fatally shot during celebratory firing at a wedding procession in Noida’s Aghapur area on Sunday night. Police said they are actively searching for a second suspect who also fired during the event. 

According to Noida deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Ram Badan Singh, the arrested suspect, Deepanshu Kumar, a second-year law student, was caught in the Sector 47 area of Noida after a two-day search. “His accomplice, Happy (identified by a single name), remains on the run. Both suspects, residents of Nathupur village in Gurugram’s DLF Phase 3, were identified through a video circulating on social media that purportedly showed three men climbing onto a horse-drawn chariot before two of them drew guns and fired into the air,” he added. 

The victim, Ansh Sharma, was in his father Vikas Sharma’s arms watching the wedding procession around 8.50pm when a stray bullet struck his forehead, police said. His father, originally from Sambhal and now a resident of Aghapur, rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival, they added. Based on Sharma’s complaint, a case was registered at the Sector 49 police station under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act. 

DCP Singh confirmed that Deepanshu was in possession of an illegal firearm. “Investigation has revealed that the pistol used by Deepanshu is illegal. He does not have any valid license to carry it. Three teams are continuously searching to nab Happy, who fired from his father’s licensed pistol,” he added. 

A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that the suspects became aware almost immediately that their celebratory fire had hit the child. “Within a minute of the incident, the suspects realised that their celebratory fire hit a boy. Taking advantage of the crowd, they managed to escape and did not return to their houses. Since then, Deepanshu was in Noida while Happy escaped somewhere else,” the officer said. 

Further investigation revealed that Deepanshu had borrowed the illegal firearm from a friend for celebratory firing at another friend’s wedding, police said.