A man was killed and four others, including a minor, were injured after armed assailants opened fire at a wedding ceremony in Hapur on Sunday. The victim, Sudheer, was attending a relative’s wedding when multiple masked men entered the venue and opened fire, police said. According to them, Sudheer was allegedly the target of the attack.
“We received information that there was an attack during a wedding ceremony and that one person had succumbed to injuries. Chaos ensued after the firing at the function. Three injured people are out of danger while the minor continues to be critical. As per prima-facie information, the victim had been a witness to a case in Faridabad which had irked the accused side. This attack is linked to it. We are trying to ascertain further details,” said Hapur Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Suman.
According to the police, the wedding procession had left from Faridabad to Nangla Udayrampur in Hapur. A part of the wedding formalities were taking place inside the pandal when the gunmen entered and opened fire.
“The victim had appeared as a witness in a prosecution case where his testimony aided the conviction of the accused. The case had been filed in Faridabad itself. Prima-facie, it appears that the accused in this case have a connection from that court case since Sudheer was the only target,” said Suman. The police are yet to determine if the shooting was carried out by the accused on bail or hitmen allegedly hired by them.
The attackers were wearing masks and allegedly fired multiple rounds from country-made pistols and fled, police said.
In view of the attack, checking at the border of Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar has been intensified, police said.