The wedding reception venue at Sector VI-D of Bokaro steel city where Kunal Singh was shot dead on Monday night. Picture by Pankaj Singh

Bokaro, March 15: Just over a week after a Calcutta-based businessman died in a freak firing in Bistupur, a teenager was killed when a bullet hit him at his uncle’s wedding reception at Sector VI-D, Bokaro steel city, last night.

However, it’s not still clear whether some revellers at the party had fired for fun and a stray bullet struck 17-year-old Kunal or criminals had barged inside and started shooting.

A Class XI student of Pentacostal Assembly School, Kunal was supposed to appear for his exam next month. Eyewitnesses said he was dancing with his cousins while a DJ belted out popular numbers when the bullet hit him in the chest around 11pm.

Kunal, son of sub-inspector Surendra Singh who is posted at Ghatshila (Chaibasa), slumped to the floor and was rushed to Bokaro General Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

“Some revellers were firing outside to celebrate the occasion. They were carrying rifles and pistols,” said Abhishek, a guest at the party, where over 200 people were invited. But sources said some criminals were spotted near the venue and they might have sprayed bullets.

A team from Sector VI police station, including deputy superintendent of police (Bokaro city) Udai Kumar Tete, rushed to the spot yesterday and started investigations. “The bullet was fired from a close range. We are checking video footages of the function to find out who is the culprit,” he said.

The body has been sent for post-mortem. Kunal’s father Surendra, who was at Chaibasa and could not attend the reception, has reached Bokaro. He has demanded a high-level inquiry.

Kunal, who used to live with his mother, younger brother and sister (both students of Pentacostal Assembly School) at Sector XII-F, was brilliant in studies.

Director of Pentacostal Assembly School D.N. Prasad described him as a very disciplined boy who had notched a perfect A-1 (10) in math, science and social science and A (9.6) in Sanskrit and English in his Class X boards last year. He wanted to get into IIT and was studying for more than seven hours a day for the entrance test.

The incident comes close on the heels of businessman Rakesh Kumar Uppal (42) dying in a freak firing when revelry at a terrace cocktail party reached a perilous high at Hotel Sonnet in Bistupur on the night of March 5. According to invitees, the businessman was shot when some guests tried to fire from his bodyguard’s pistol for fun. Two persons — the bodyguard and a relative of the victim — had been arrested.