Behrampore, April 29: A youth who protested against music blaring from a marriage party next door was hacked to death last night and his parents and brother were severely wounded.

Police have arrested groom Ranjit Mondal, a farmer, in Murshidabad's Farakka and a hunt is on for three others, including the groom's father.

Mithun Mondal, who is no relation of the groom, was killed on the spot after a group at Ranjit's house pounced on him with sickles.

Ranjit had thrown the party at his house in Bindu village last evening. Two sound boxes were blaring music that continued till late in the night.

Mithun, 25, works as a contract labourer in Bangalore. He had come home to vote and the family could not sleep last night because of the blaring music. Mithun went to Ranjit's house around 11pm and requested him to lower the volume of the sound boxes.

A villager said: "Ranjit refused to lower the volume of the music and an argument started between the two. Mithun's younger brother Bifal and his parents joined him. The quarrel snowballed into a clash."

Mithun's father Sudhir Mondal said from his hospital bed: "Mithun and Ranjit got into a scuffle. Ranjit, his father Dwijen and two other relatives brought sickles from inside the house and started hacking wildly at Mithun. When my younger son Bifal, my wife Malati and I tried to stop them, they hacked us also with the sickles and we started bleeding."

Mithun died on the spot. Villagers admitted Sudhir, Malati and Bifal at Jangipur subdivisonal hospital last night.

A doctor at Jangipur hospital said Bifal had suffered deep injuries in the neck and abdomen. He was taken to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital.

"His condition was critical and so he was shifted for better treatment," the doctor said.