A dispute over bursting firecrackers on a road during Diwali turned fatal in Juhu, Mumbai, leaving a 19-year-old dead and two men under arrest. The argument began over crackers burst near a parked motorcycle and ended in a violent assault.

The victim has been identified as Nanu, also known as Shubhankar Jagdev Mukhiya, aged 19. He died after the altercation with three people who objected to him bursting crackers near their parked motorcycle.

The incident took place near Sahakari Bhandar Bhavan, close to a bank branch on VM Road in Juhu. The victim was heading towards the beach with four friends when they stopped and began bursting firecrackers on the road.

The trouble began after a cracker went off near a Bullet motorcycle belonging to one of the accused. The accused objected and asked them to stop, and the argument quickly turned into a heated exchange of abuse.

How the argument turned violent

According to police sources, the accused allegedly called two associates to the spot as the argument grew. When the victim and his friends reached near Sanidhya Building, the accused and their associates allegedly attacked them with kicks and punches.

Mukhiya sustained serious injuries in the assault and died, while one of his friends was also injured. The three accused allegedly fled the spot on a motorcycle after the attack.

Residents rushed the injured youths to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle West, where doctors declared Mukhiya dead. His body was handed over to his family after the post-mortem examination.

Two arrested, minor sent to observation home

Juhu police arrested two men, Rahul Santosh Mandal, 23, and Ravi Kumar Devendra, 22, and sent a minor accused to the Dongri observation home. A murder case has been registered, and further investigation is under way.

Police said the arrests were made using a combination of technical investigation and confidential intelligence. The two men were identified and apprehended within hours of the incident.

The case is a reminder of how quickly a festive argument can turn deadly. What began as a complaint about a cracker near a parked motorcycle ended with a young man dead, two men in custody and a minor in an observation home.