Another jawan on killing spree

Jammu: A soldier shot dead two colleagues in the Budhal area of Rajouri district on Monday before killing himself in the second such incident in three days, reports our correspondent.

The three men belonged to the army’s 60 Rashtriya Rifles, a wing devoted to fighting insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Around 1.30 pm, the trio, part of a patrol party scanning the road for possible landmines, started quarrelling. The cause of the tiff is not clear, nor is there any explanation on why the discord turned fatal.

On Saturday, a soldier had shot dead three of his colleagues and wounded three others in Rajouri, around 180 km northwest of Jammu. The jawan, whose identity was not disclosed, fired on his colleagues while they were sleeping in their barracks.

Law shield for street vendors

New Delhi (PTI): The Centre has decided to prepare a model law for states by next month to protect the rights of street vendors.

At a recent meeting on the progress of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had discussed the matter with Union urban development minister S. Jaipal Reddy and officials of his ministry.

The proposed legislation aims at shielding vendors from harassment, an official release said on Monday. “Such a model law will be ready by November for circulation to the states,” it added.

Party arrests

Mumbai (PTI): Seventeen youths were arrested on Sunday for allegedly consuming drugs at a rave party held last month in neighbouring Thane.

“Forensic tests found they had consumed cannabis,” police said, adding that the arrested include college students and call centre employees.

Indian dead

Dubai (PTI): An Indian has died after falling from the sixth floor when a scaffold collapsed at a construction site in Bahrain. Kumarapillai Neelakantan died of internal injuries. His Bangladeshi co-worker, who also fell from the scaffold, has been hospitalised in a critical condition.

Wall collapse

Dindigul (PTI): A 10-year-old girl and her grandparents were crushed to death when the wall of the house next to theirs collapsed on Monday. The girl died on the spot, while her grandparents succumbed to injuries in hospital.

The Gangotri shrine, at a height of 3,200 metres in the Garhwal Himalayas, was closed for the winter season on Monday. Kedarnath and Yamunotri will close down on Tuesday.