A Nepal Army lance corporal was shot dead by a fellow soldier in Pokhara on early Tuesday morning.

District Police Office, Kaski, said LCpl Ganesh Singh Bista was shot multiple times in his sleep by LCpl Basanta Lohar at around 4:30am.

Bista died as he was being rushed to hospital, Superintendent of Police Basanta Bahadur Kunwar said.

Lohar had reportedly fired seven shots from an M16 assault rifle to kill Bista.

The NA detained Lohar after the incident. He will be court-martialled for murdering his colleague.

SP Kunwar said it was not clear why Lohar committed the crime. An NA source said Lohar and Bista had a long history of enmity and that the incident was a result of a personal vendetta.