Lanka suicide

Chennai, Jan. 29: A youth burnt himself to death today to protest the Centre’s alleged failure to save Sri Lankan Tamils, a day after Pranab Mukherjee returned from Colombo.

R. Muthukumaran, a 30-year-old DTP operator with a Tamil magazine run by PMK leader S. Ramadoss’s daughter, set himself ablaze at Shastri Bhavan, a complex of central government offices in the heart of Chennai. He was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his burns.

IIM cut

Ahmedabad (PTI): The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, has lowered the fixed fee it charges from companies coming for campus recruitment this year. “In routine course, we rationalised the fee structure... across all the five programmes,” placement committee head Saral Mukherjee said.

Defence pay

New Delhi (PTI): The armed forces have rejected the PMO’s proposal to grant higher pay only to those lieutenant colonels who are in “combat” or “ready-to-combat” roles. In a letter to the defence ministry, the tri-services’ principal personnel officers committee chairman, Vice-Admiral D.K. Dewan, said the forces wanted all lieutenant colonels to be placed under the Pay Band-4, including those on deputation to paramilitary and other services.

Freak firing

Lucknow (PTI): A 13-year-old boy was shot by another teenager fiddling with his air gun in Lucknow. Sahil was flying a kite when Baakar was aiming his air gun. Sahil’s condition is reported to be serious.

Drug trail

Muzaffarnagar (PTI): The passport of a woman who was arrested at Attari for allegedly smuggling heroin this week has been found to be fake. During verification, police found she had given a fake address, special superintendent of police told reporters.

‘Rape’ killing

Muzaffarnagar (PTI): A 68-year-old tribal woman was beaten to death and six were injured on Wednesday when they tried to stop some youths from raping a girl. Six youths have been detained, police said.