A new Year celebration at Mira Road took a deadly turn after a verbal dispute snowballed into a violent attack involving bamboo and iron rods. On Thursday, one person, Raja Periyar, 23, succumbed to injuries sustained during the incident, which was sparked over whether Bhojpuri or Marathi songs ought to have been played, according to the Kashimira police.

The deceased breathed his last at KEM Hospital and the post-mortem will be conducted on Friday. Hundreds of revellers had been dancing to Marathi songs but another group insisted that Bhojpuri numbers be played. “Since a few of the revellers were inebriated, a verbal dispute broke out. After a few minutes, the crowd got polarised on the subject of regional music,” said a local source in Mira Road.