Indian Groom Killed At Wedding By Celebratory Gunshot

Pankaj Kishore Karotia, a 21-year-old Indian groom, was shot and killed by his uncle at his own wedding celebration, after a "revelry shot" went horribly wrong.

Karotia's bride had been waiting for him in the car as the wedding party drew to a close in Noida, India. His uncle, Rajkumar Karotia, drew a licensed pistol to shoot a celebratory shot in the air. As the pistol was loaded, a shot accidentally went out, hitting the groom in the head.

"He was eager and excited about the wedding and was attempting to fire in the air to mark the end of the wedding," said the groom's father, Kishore Karotia. "The bullet hit my son on his head."

The groom was taken to hospital but soon died. His uncle has been arrested for culpable murder.

'Revelry shots' had been banned in the area two years ago, but continue to be a problem.

"The relatives told us they were carrying arms to tackle robbers if they are attacked on the way -- that's the reasoning we get after most such cases," the Superintendent of Police told reporters.

Comments

[pmbpro]

08:17 PM on 02/24/2010

Oh my. This is so sad. The poor groom didn't even make it to the car. :-(

My heart goes out to the bride, his parents, the rest of their families and friends. :-(

[ArtsyJane]

06:49 AM on 02/24/2010

So much for "guns don't kill" bla-bla.

If the guy had popped a bottle of champagne instead, the groom would be still alive.

It's a horrible story, but let it serve as a lesson.

[Dham4201]

03:58 AM on 02/24/2010

They should be shooting blanks anyway...a bullet that goes up must come down eventually.

[rock0223]

10:23 AM on 02/24/2010

What's blank are the minds of all the trigger-happy fools.

[tlgeiger62]

06:57 PM on 02/23/2010

What a painful story. What unimaginable anguish this uncle (and truly everyone there) must be experiencing. My heart goes out to one and all.

[eMJayy]

08:00 AM on 02/23/2010

Tragic. Why is there a need to fire live ammo? If blanks had been used instead, this outcome would have been avoided.

[laikhuram]

06:03 AM on 02/24/2010

blanks! how about no guns!

[faretheewell]

07:33 AM on 02/23/2010

What state was it that just began allowing concealed weapons in bars? Now there is a sure fire way to liven up the entertainment. Nothing like firearms and alcohol to get a place hopping.

[cloudmaker]

07:13 AM on 02/23/2010

That incle would be very happy in Miami where any event is an excuse to fire guns into the air, never
caring where the bullet may land.

[jeanrenoir]

07:58 AM on 02/23/2010

What the HuffPost reminds us of, vividly and daily, is what a lunatic asylum this planet truly is.

[tivolives]

06:32 AM on 02/23/2010

Once again, we have a headline from Huffpost designed to elicit responses, and it worked.

The headline "Indian Groom Killed At Wedding By Celebratory Gunshot" is entirely bogus, but I suppose it's more controversial that "Indian Groom Killed At Wedding when Gun Being Loaded by Uncle in Preparation for a Celebratory Gunshot Accidentally Goes Off"

A great many of the comments are in response to the headline, not the story.

[SaltyLassi]

10:29 AM on 02/23/2010

You are correct. The story states "As the pistol was loaded, a shot accidentally went out, hitting the groom in the head." So the uncle, if he shot the gun as intended, probably would not have harmed anyone. That said, it was still a loaded gun, and in very poor judgment to even want to shoot a gun into the air. Very irresponsible.

[Bizu2]

06:16 AM on 02/23/2010

so much for open carry LOL FAIL!

[RevJimIII]

12:24 AM on 02/24/2010

This event has nothing to do with open carry.

[pittsburghunionguy]

06:01 AM on 02/23/2010

The NRA's answer to a story like this is,of course, that when everyone is armed we'll all be safer. The groom should have been packing heat himself, and shot the uncle first.

As for the danger posed by adults carrying loaded guns into parks where children are playing, well, arm the kiddies!

[RevJimIII]

12:14 AM on 02/24/2010

CCW holders have been going to parks for decades with no danger. Their safety record exceeds that of most federal and state law enforcement.

[Aranxa]

03:47 AM on 02/23/2010

As the NRA is so fond of saying "Guns don't kill people"
No, idiots do.

[F4Phantom]

02:24 AM on 02/23/2010

Raul thought taking the rocket launcher to his best friend's wedding was sure to help him score with one of the bridesmaids......

[mathme]

12:28 AM on 02/23/2010

Since the probability of being killed by gunfire is so insignificant-- I mean, low enough that we really think we ought to keep handguns on the street and more a-comin', why do we raise such a fuss about terrorism?

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/12/odds-of-airborne-terror.html

However, you have about a 1 in 20,000 chance of being kiIIed by gunfire intentionally or accidentally. Not bad odds, really, but compared to the probability of being kiIIed by terrorism (though that link just includes airborne terrorism).

It's weird that we're so freaked out about terrorism.

[dzagama]

04:41 AM on 02/23/2010

Not really. Accidents such as this have almost no economic ramifications. Terrorism destabilizes economics.

[DickTater]

07:55 AM on 02/23/2010

Only if we go off half-cocked and spend trillions laying waste to countries that had nothing to do with the terrorists, and then lay waste to countries that no longer are harbouring our enemy, and letting defense contractors rob us blind, and invoking a climate of fear and hatred in our own country where we label everyone and everything we don't like as a terrorist.....then yeah, it can destabilize an economy.

Cheap shots from weaklings usually don't make truly courageous and strong people tremble and start pissing themselves. But Republicans.....

[sonoffestus]

04:41 PM on 02/23/2010

Conservatives "destabilize economics" as well, hence they are terrorists. Yes, I agree with you.

[bucksy]

07:43 AM on 02/23/2010

Well, I thought that too until a 'celebratory' bullet came straight down into the rear window of my wife's car one New Year's Eve.

[Rangerguy2000]

12:12 AM on 02/23/2010

Northern part of India probably has the most per capita number of guns in the world right now. Its a culture around there now to own a weapon, whether legal or illegal. Most people who have weapons usually have 1 license and then keep a handful of other weapons illegally. Its more of a fad than anything else. Then they take these guns to wedding and social functions and wear them on the outside like an ornament. Usually at these functions they get drunk and then they strongly feel the need to fir the gun in the air like they have won a war or something. Not to mention, Northern India, especially the state of Punjab, has the highest per capita consumption of alcohol (not beer) in the world after California. I don't understand this behavior but sadly this is the reality.

[SaltyLassi]

10:30 AM on 02/23/2010

Oh, I thought you were talking about many parts of America. You do realize this happens here, too, right? Americans in certain states are allowed to carry loaded firearms into the airport and national parks, and most recently, a bar. All those stories and more on HuffPo

[Tenjikuronin]

09:23 PM on 02/23/2010

The number of guns in North India really isn't any different than the number found in the South or even Northeast parts of India....

[jamie461]

11:54 PM on 02/22/2010

In the category of Stupid Ways to Die...