Celebratory fire lands 'birthday boy' in jail

The craze to be famous on social media landed a 32-year-old man in jail after a TikTok video of him firing in the air to celebrate his birthday went viral, police said on Monday.

The incident came to light after the police received information about the video. Following a thorough examination, it was found that the incident took place in Suiwalan area of Chandni Mahal on Saturday evening when Faizan was celebrating his 32nd birthday, an officer said.

In the video, Faizan was seen firing in the air with a gun in his hand. The video was first uploaded on TikTok, which later went viral on others social media platforms, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Mandeep Singh Randhawa said.

When the video got viral, Faizan disappeared from his house and hid himself to evade arrest. He was arrested from Akhade Wali Gali and a countrymade pistol used in the alleged firing was recovered from his possession, Randhawa said.

During interrogation, Faizan revealed that on the eve of his 32nd birthday, he planned to celebrate in a different way to make it special, the DCP said.

The accused took a countrymade pistol from a person of Chandni Mahal area and recorded the purported video and uploaded it on TikTok "to make himself famous on social media and the society," the officer said.

Efforts are being made to ascertain the source of illegal weapon, the police said, adding that a case had been registered.