‘Was toying with pistol when it accidentally went off’: Celebratory firing death accused

Bhopal: A day after a 32-year-old woman was killed by a bullet allegedly fired during preparations for celebratory gunfire at her infant son’s ‘Chhathi’ ceremony in Gwalior, police arrested the main accused. He claimed that he was “merely toying with the pistol when it accidentally went off”.

Investigators are also probing the role of family members and others who allegedly helped them conceal the death by hiding the body in a deep freezer and planning a quiet cremation.

The woman, identified as Jahnavi alias Jyoti Kushwah, was struck in the head by a bullet while family celebrations were on at Tripti Nagar on Sunday. According to police, she died on the spot.

During interrogation, the arrested accused, Yogesh Kushwah, 26, told police that he was merely playing with and waving around a country-made pistol when it accidentally discharged. Police said he had allegedly been repeatedly loading and unloading the weapon, purportedly in preparation for celebratory firing to mark the birth of his nephew.

Instead of informing police or taking the woman to a hospital, family members allegedly attempted to cover up the incident. Police said the body was kept inside a deep freezer to prevent decomposition while plans were being made to cremate her without informing authorities. Neighbours were allegedly told that she had died due to illness.

The alleged cover-up unravelled after a local resident alerted police. A team reached the house, recovered the body and launched an investigation. By then, the accused and some family members had fled, police said.

“The accused has been arrested. The weapon he used was also illegal. He has been booked for unintentional murder. He and family members as well were saying that he was waving the gun around when it accidentally fired. The investigations are going on, and even those people who were responsible for concealing evidence and information about the crime will also be booked under relevant sections,” Gwalior SSP Dharmveer Singh Yadav told TOI.

Police said they were also investigating how the illegal firearm was procured.