NEW DELHI — A bridegroom in New Delhi has been killed by a stray bullet after a member of his wedding party opened fire to celebrate the occasion, police said on Wednesday. Deepak Kumar, 21, was shot while leading the party to his bride’s home in the Indian capital on Tuesday evening. Police said a guest dancing with the wedding party opened fire but a stray round struck the husband-to-be. “He collapsed and was rushed to hospital where he was declared dead after midnight,” Nupur Prasad, deputy commissioner of Delhi police, said. Prasad said the groom’s family had identified the man who fired the bullet. The accused is a distant relative of the deceased and is absconding since the incident. “It is an ongoing investigation and we are trying to ascertain the source of his weapon,” he said. Police are questioning people present there at the time of the incident. CCTV footages from nearby cameras are also being scanned to get more clues about the incident. Several teams have been dispatched to Ghaziabad in search of the accused. Firing weapons in the air at weddings and other festivities is a common celebration across South Asia. The practice is illegal in India but remains rife, though fatalities are relatively few. Amit, one of the wedding guests, told the Times of India newspaper there “were a couple of people carrying guns for celebratory firing, which is considered a tradition in the family”. — Agencies