Jilted lover aims to kill groom in Pratapgarh village

Prayagraj: What initially appeared as a case of celebratory firing, turned out to be a murder, when a jilted lover attempted to kill the groom during a wedding in Saraykher Kha village of Pratapgarh on Tuesday night. His bullet missed the target and hit the cousin of the bride, killing him on the spot.
Pratapgarh police on Wednesday arrested the accused identified as Vivek Singh in connection with the killing of the bride’s cousin, Prem Singh (38).
Prem died of a gunshot wound at the wedding of his sister on Tuesday night . After the arrest, the accused Vivek confessed that he was in love with the bride, and fired a shot targeting the groom in order to stop the wedding. However, he missed the target and the bullet hit Prem, the bride’s cousin, killing him on the spot.
The incident took place at Saraykher Kha village under Raniganj police station of Pratapgarh on Tuesday night.
Police are also looking for the accomplice of the prime accused who was reportedly with him at the time of the incident.
Deputy SP (Raniganj) Dr Atul Anjan Tripathi told TOI that the prime accused, Vivek Singh, a resident of Madartara village has been arrested in connection with the killing of Prem Singh (38), a resident of Saraykher Kha Lohartara village.
Police, meanwhile, said that the marriage of one Nigam Singh’s daughter was to be solemnised at Saraykher Kha Lohartara village on Tuesday night. The groom’s party had come from Delhi. When the welcome ceremony was taking place and the cousin of the bride, Prem, was busy in arrangements, the accused Vivek, who was in love with the bride, arrived at the venue and opened fire targeting the groom.
The bullet, however, hit Prem and left him critically injured. The family members took him to the district hospital where doctors pronounced him brought dead.
Upon being alerted, a team of Raniganj police rushed to the spot and carried out preliminary investigations.
The DSP said, “Initially, the police suspected it to be a case of celebratory firing, but a detailed investigation stunned senior cops. When Vivek Singh was arrested in connection with the firing incident, he himself confessed his intentions.”
Following the investigations, an FIR under Section 302 of IPC was registered at Raniganj police station against two persons—Vivek Singh and his accomplice Firoz Alam. While Vivek has been arrested, his accomplice Firoz is still on the run.
The DSP said that Vivek had been threatening the girl and his family of dire consequences if they dared to fix her marriage with someone else. The bride’s father told police that the accused had made futile attempts to prevent the fixing of his daughter’s marriage several times.