New Delhi, February 24
A 34-year-old man allegedly smashed the heads of his wife and two daughters before hanging himself in his house at Vikas Vihar in southwest Delhi.

His youngest daughter, Bhavna, who is three years old, was unhurt. She was with her grandmother, who lives in rented accommodation, three buildings from the murder site.

The police suspect that the deceased, Ravinder Kanojia had murdered his wife, Chanda (31) and two daughters, Yashika (6) and Nandini (8), before killing himself. Investigators are trying to ascertain the motive behind the killings. They suspect that infidelity or a sudden provocation may be the reasons behind the murders.

The incident came to light at about 7.30 am today when Bhavna went to her parents' house to get her toothbrush.

The house is owned by Ravinder and his two brothers. The house was under construction and in December last year, all of them, including Ravinder's family, shifted to the rented accommodation nearby.

Ravinder and his two brothers ran a dry cleaning business in Dwarka. They had been living on the ground floor of the under-construction house for the past 20 years. They had decided to add more floors to their house so that each brother could own a separate apartment.

Three days ago, Ravinder, Chanda and their two daughters, Yashika and Nandini, shifted from the rented accommodation to the under-construction house as its ground floor had been renovated.

When Bhavna reached the house where her parents and sisters were staying, she knocked at the door, but even after repeated knocks, none of them opened it. Neighbours found this suspicious as Chanda rose early in the morning. They called Ravinder's other family members.

Ravinder's elder brother, Kishore Kanojia, entered the house through a neighbour's terrace. "I opened the room and found blood splattered all over. Chanda was lying dead on a cot and Yashika and Nandini were on the other," said Kishore.

The police later found an iron pipe near Chanda's bed.

Ravinder was hanging from a wooden plank on the second floor of the house. "Ravinder was in the same dirty knickers and shirt that he was wearing while helping the masons," said Ravinder's brother-in-law Vikas Kanojia.

The police were informed about the deaths at about 8.15 am. They are yet to ascertain the timing of the murders. The police found an empty bottle of alcohol near Ravinder though neighbours claimed that he was not an alcoholic.

The police said they are yet to ascertain if he consumed alcohol before the alleged suicide.

Neighbours said that they never saw the couple or Ravinder's brothers to be involved in any major fights.

New Delhi, February 24
Keeping in view the election code of conduct that will be enforced in March, the Delhi government has started reshuffling the Delhi Administrative Subordinate Services (DASS) cadre.

Once the code of conduct is notified, no transfer can be done.

As many as 87 employees belonging to the DASS III cadre have been transferred today. Through an order, they have been asked to report to their new departments on Friday.

This is the first such big reshuffle after the imposition of President's rule in Delhi, an official said.

A major chunk of the officials have been asked to report to the Divisional Commissioner's office.

"With the model code of conduct set to come into effect in March, the election-related work will pick up. A big section of personnel will work under district election officers," said a government source.

New Delhi, February 24
In continuation of the ongoing struggle of various groups against the Delhi University Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), students of various colleges under the banner of the Delhi State Committee of the All India Democratic Student's Organisation (AIDSO) started a two-day protest today on north campus.

At the Arts Faculty gate, slogans were heard against the DU administration and the FYUP with the gathering being addressed by many protesters, including Prof. Narendra Sharma, convenor of All India Save Education Committee, Delhi and Delhi University Teachers' Association president Nandita Narayan.

The speakers dubbed FYUP as anti-student and anti-teacher and said that this is nothing but a sinister design of our government to convert education into a global commodity for the capitalist class.