Kanpur, March 8 -- A joyous wedding celebration in a Chitrakoot village turned into a scene of mourning after a father's celebratory gunfire accidentally killed his 18-year-old son in Rampura police station limits late Thursday night.

The incident occurred during the wedding ceremony of Saloni, daughter of Rudra Tiwari, in Belha Purwa village. The groom's procession, arriving from Manhai Karvi, was met with traditional celebrations, including the customary firing of guns into the air-a practice known as celebratory gunfire. However, the festivities took a devastating turn when Saloni's maternal uncle, Vishnu Pandey, allegedly fired shots into the air around 11:30 pm, police said.

One of the bullets struck Pandey's own son, Ansh Pandey, ...