Krishnagar, Oct. 17: A quarrel between two wayside hawkers in Ranaghat today ended in death.

Kamal Dev, who sells innerwear at Sanyasi Bazaar, about 65 km from Calcutta, could not bear that his friend Paresh Das was doing better business before the puja. In the heat of the tiff, he punched Das, 55, in the abdomen. Fellow hawkers said he did not mean to kill Das, but Dev is absconding.

Highway block: Rama Bhuia, 37, a daily wager, fell into a well last night while trying to run from police out of fear. National Highway 2 was blocked near Asansol, about 230 km from Calcutta, for three hours today to demand compensation.