23 UP youths held for brandishing weapons at functions

Twenty-three youths from the four districts -- Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Fatehpur and Kaushambhi -- have been arrested under the Arms Act for brandishing country-made weapons in weddings or posing with the illegal weapons on social media in different incidents.

In the latest incident, the Prayagraj police, on Thursday, arrested a 20-year-old-youth after a video in which he is seen dancing to the tunes of the Bollywood item number "Tamanche Pe Disco" while brandishing a country-made weapon during a wedding in Meja tehsil, went viral on social media.

The youth admitted that the craze for online fame and getting plenty of likes and followers had provoked him to dance on the floor with the illegal weapon.

He has been identified as Ashish Kumar Yadav, a resident of Vindhyanchal in Mirzapur) district.

Yadav was arrested under Sections 3 and 25 of the Arms Act.

A country-made pistol of .315 bore along with a live cartridge was also seized from his possession, police said.

Among the other arrests, 10 were arrested from Pratapgarh, five each from Prayagraj and Fatehpur, and three from Kaushambhi were arrested under the Arms Act for brandishing country-made weapons in weddings or posing with the illegal weapon on social media.

In the past fortnight, at least three videos, including that of a bride firing a shot in the air while stepping on to the stage with the licensed weapon of her uncle in a remote village of Pratapgarh district, went viral on social media.

The video of the bride landed her in trouble. A case under the Arms Act was registered against her at the Jethwara police station of Pratapgarh.

Inspector General of Police (IG), Prayagraj range, K.P. Singh, said, "Directives have been issued to all superintendents of police (SPs) to initiate stern action against persons posing with illegal weapons on social media or dancing on the floor while brandishing guns in weddings."

He added that these law breakers would be booked under appropriate sections of the Arms Act and legal action would be initiated against them.

The IG said, "Youngsters often land themselves in trouble after uploading videos of themselves in which they are seen brandishing guns while dancing on popular Bollywood item songs in order to gain instant popularity on social media and increase their list of followers."

Singh said that the social media cell of all four districts of Prayagraj range has been asked to keep a strict eye on such videos and refer the case to the concerned police stations if any such video goes viral on social media.