Bloody Finale
In life, Phoolan Devi combined the brutal underbelly of India with political fame and glamour. Gunned down in Delhi, her death could become the occasion for a new round of caste conflict in Uttar Pradesh. Phoolan
is being reinvented posthumously.
A report.

Rule Of Outlaw
Dons and politicians enjoy a symbiotic relationship in Uttar Pradesh.

Back To The Trenches
Determined not to let up on its Kashmir-centric agenda, Pakistan has stepped up violence in the Valley. Indian security forces gear up to deal with the situation.

Revenge Of Badla People who lent money to stockbrokers for financing speculators through the badla system find themselves at the receiving end of yet another scam. And with little evidence to nail the accused, chances of recovery are dim.

The Peacenik
S.B. Deuba's rapport with the Maoists helped him become prime minister. Now he has to deal with their radical demands about the monarchy and secularism.

BUSINESS: STOCK MARKETS

Between The Fine Print

The biggest irony is that most depositors in vyaj badla opted for it because they did not want to be swindled by a stocks scam. The assured annualised returns of around 16 per cent on these instruments certified by the stock exchange made badla financing attractive. Says Jigar Shah, analyst with KRC Research, a stock-broking firm: "Vyaj badla is a lucrative but risky option because there is no direct mechanism available for the financier to keep a check on his broker's activities. It mostly works on mutual trust and faith."

But trust and faith are transient qualities in the stock market. When prices began to slide, many brokers were caught on the wrong side of the ledger. Payments became a problem and investors were in trouble. By the time depositors started looking at the fine print, the brokers, and their money, were gone.

In many cases, even reading the fine print wouldn't have helped. Laxmi Narain, 74, invested Rs 15 lakh in badla with NSE member Bhavesh Sethia of Bhavesh Dhirajlal Stockbroking Company in January 2001. When the scam broke out, Narain decided to pull out his funds but found that his money had not been invested in ALBM at all. Not just that, Sethia had all along been issuing forged certificates. Panic stricken, Narain rushed to the police along with 45 others who have together lost Rs 60 crore.

Although Sethia was arrested in April, neither the NSE nor SEBI have acted on the complaints. Their argument: action can be taken against a broker only if he defaults on payments. Says M.L. Soneji, vice-president, National Security Clearing Corporation: "There is no guarantee against frauds." Narain and others have now written to Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to intervene. His intervention may not help though. For one, the deposits are not secured. There is also little evidence to nail the accused. Most of them had lent money in the unofficial market in the badly regulated CSE.

When the CSE's unofficial market, which helped buyers build positions without paying any margin, collapsed in early March, it had a cascading effect on the BSE and NSE. Brokers simply threw up their hands and exchange officials, too busy with SEBI's probe, paid scant regard to investors' complaints.

It's a typically Indian scenario. Greedy investors ignore the pitfalls of unsecured debt. Brokers exploit this and punt with their money. Exchanges dub this an off-market problem. SEBI maintains it is yet to receive any complaint. Police admit there are complaints but don't know how to handle them. In the end, the investor is the loser. Always.

MetroScape

Looking Glass

Kolkata Restaurant: Ambi

Bangalore Rock Concert: Scorpions

Starved of resources and bogged down
by mismanagement, pilferage and irregularities, Punjab's civil aviation is in an utter mess. INDIA TODAY's Special Correspondent Ramesh Vinayak reports in
Airsick