Manju Tiwari apologised for her ‘carelessness’ and said she got carried away by the ‘Deepavali-like’ atmosphere

A BJP woman leader in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur, Manju Tiwari, courted controversy when she allegedly fired a shot in the air with a revolver on Sunday evening when people across the country switched off their lights and lit lamps and candles at the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A video of the alleged celebratory firing was widely shared on social media.

Also read: Kolkata police arrest 98 for bursting crackers during ‘9 pm-9 minutes’

After the video created much outrage, Balrampur police said it was registering a case against Ms. Tiwari, who is the district president of the party’s women’s wing.

She was seen in the video pointing a revolver towards the sky at an angle before firing a shot. A man belonging of her family could be heard cheering for her after she fired the bullet.

An FIR has been registered against Ms. Tiwari under Section 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 30 of the Arms Act 1959.

While talking to a Hindi news channel, Ms. Tiwari apologised for her “carelessness” and said she got carried away by the ‘Deepavali-like’ atmosphere in her city when people lit lamps and burst crackers at 9 p.m. for nine minutes.

“When I came out I saw the entire city decorated with earthen lamps and candles. I felt excitement like it was Deepavali,” Ms. Tiwari said.

Mr. Modi had, in a video message last week, asked people to light a lamp or flash a torch from their mobile phone at 9 p.m. on Sunday for nine minutes to show solidarity in the fight against COVID-19.