In the backdrop of recent incidents of celebratory firings at weddings, Haryana Government on Wednesday issued directions to all Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, Commissioners of Police of the state to impose ban on the use of firearms during marriage processions and marriage ceremonies by imposing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Ram Niwas issued directions in this regard.
He also asked them to take strict action against violators by confiscating their arms, suspending their licenses and registering case under appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act.
In case of security need, special permission may be granted by the concerned District Magistrate for carrying such weapons, he said.
Taking serious note of celebratory firings at weddings, the Police Department has been directed to put a check on carrying of arms at wedding functions, in coordination with the District Magistrate concerned.
Notably, a female dancer was shot dead in a celebratory firing during a wedding ceremony in Bathinda district last week. A video of the incident that was posted on social media sites shows a man who is dancing and holding a .12-bore rifle fires in the air when a bullet pierces through the head of the dancer, identified as Kulwinder Kaur.
In another such incident last month, a self-styled godwoman, Sadhvi Dev Thakur, and her accomplices had gone on a firing spree during a wedding function near Karnal town in Haryana, leaving a woman guest dead and two others injured.