Patna: Firing at a wedding ceremony killed a 20-year-old Mahadalit youth at a village under the jurisdiction of Saraiya police station in Muzaffarpur district late on Wednesday night, leading to violent clashes, loot and arson.

Police said on Thursday that Navin Manjhi was killed when the members of a baraat (wedding party) opened fire at Abhichhapra village under the jurisdiction of Sariaya police station in Muzaffarpur, around 60km north of Patna.

Family members and relatives of the deceased, including women, then attacked the house of Nand Kishore Rai, assaulted the bride Pinki Kumari, the bridegroom and members of the wedding party.

They later set at least seven four-wheelers and nine motorbikes on fire.

The mob also raided the houses of Rai's three neighbours and looted cash and other valuables.

The battle between the protesting mob and the wedding party, which stared around 9pm,continued till 4am.

The baraat had come from Bajitpur village under the jurisdiction of Paroo police station in Muzaffarpur district.

Saraiya sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Shankar Kumar Jha said the trouble started after some residents of Musahar Toli (hamlet) stopped the DJ when the baraat was heading for the wedding venue. They asked the DJ to play the music of their choice and wanted to dance to some Bhojpuri numbers. At this point, a member of the baraat party opened fire - the reason is not yet clear. A bullet hit Navin and he died on the spot.

As the news spread like wildfire, the Mahadalits assembled at a place and chalked out a strategy to retaliate to the incident.

At least two dozen persons suffered injuries in the clashes that followed, and they were undergoing treatment at a private nursing home.

SDPO Jha said personnel from Paroo police station and Ajipur police outpost were rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control.

The district administration had to call in the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the Sahashtra Seema Bal to bring the situation under control, he added.

The police officials said three FIRs will be lodged. The first FIR will be related to the youth's murder, the second will deal with the attack on the houses, and the third FIR will be lodged for damage of property by a mob.

The deceased's father, Basudev Manjhi, claimed Mukesh Kumar, stated to be a cousin of the bride, had killed Navin following a dispute over playing of Bhojpuri numbers. Basudev claimed that the bride's family members were so aggressive that they had killed his son over a trivial issue. Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harpreet Kaur said additional armed forces have been deployed at the village to prevent any untoward incident. She admitted that the incident has led to caste tension at the village.

"We are alert and have taken all precautionary measures," she told The Telegraph over phone on Thursday. Celebratory firing in marriages is not a new phenomenon in Bihar.

At least five persons have been killed in the state in celebratory firing since January this year. Most of the incidents were reported from Bhojpur and Rohtas districts in south-central Bihar.