AGRA: Six days after a 27-year-old dancer was shot at when she paused to take a break after performing on stage for a while at a village wedding in Uttar Pradesh ’s Chitrakoot district , police arrested a local gram pradhan and his relative on Friday. A video clip of the incident has been widely circulated since.

Sudhir Singh, a 45-year-old gram pradhan of Tikra village and his 50-year-old relative, Phool Singh, have been arrested and charged under Sections 212 (harbouring offender) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC and under the Illegal Arms Act.

According to local police, on November 30, Sudhir Singh had hired an orchestra for his daughter’s wedding, where a group of women were performing onstage. The injured woman has been identified as Heena Devi, who was taken to Lucknow SGPGI for a jaw surgery. She is said to be in stable condition now.

Station house officer (SHO) Subhash Chaurasia of Mau police said, “After dancing non-stop, the woman was feeling exhausted and took a brief pause, when Phool Singh started firing. Stray pellets then struck Heena Devi and two other men, Mithlesh and Kamlesh.”

The 34-second video purportedly shot from a mobile phone shows that the woman was struck in her jaw when she stopped dancing. In the video, an unidentified man is being heard saying, “...Goli chal jaayegi agar yeh gana lag jaaye… kaho toh ek fire ho… Sudhir bhai maro ek [If this song is played, bullet will be fired. Are you up for a gunshot? Sudhir, open fire].”

“As soon as the unidentified man calls Sudhir to fire a shot, a bullet struck Heena’s jaw, while Mithlesh and Kamlesh — two siblings who were also the groom’s relatives — sustained injuries in their wrist and leg,” the SHO added.

Sources said after the incident, police reportedly helped the gram pradhan wind up the function. They, however, did not arrest him. The pradhan also allegedly helped Phool Singh flee.

“The two accused were on the run. A country-made pistol was used by Phool Singh to fire shots,” the SHO further said.



In Video: On cam: Bar girl dancing in marriage ceremony hit with bullet