The President of the Bombay unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr. Ramdas Nayak (49) was shot dead on Thursday morning near his residence when two unknown gunmen fired 42 rounds from an AK-56 rifle. Mr. Nayak, who had 10 bullet wounds on his body, died before he could be admitted to hospital. His body guard, a police constable named Mr. Bhikaji Mahadu Tadvi, was also killed. Nayak’s driver, who has been operated upon, is in a serious condition. Two bystanders were also injured... The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Sharad Pawar, told the press that all entry points in the city had been closed immediately after the crime. Combing operations were on to nab the culprits, he said… Just last week Mr. Nayak was in the news when the writ petition filed by him against the Rs. 9,000-crore Dabhol project in Maharashtra was dismissed by the Bombay High Court.

BSE move evokes poor response

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s (BSE) decision to rope in Indian financial institutions (FIs) as corporate members has evinced poor response. Mr. A. N. Kolhatkar, executive director of BSE, said that although the exchange had written to the various FIs giving them details on the modalities of membership, there has been no feedback from them. Many FIs have delayed their membership on the grounds that they have to form separate subsidiaries for running the securities business. Others have to take permission from the Government to take part in the securities business. Although institutions like the Unit Trust of India and ICICI Securities have formed separate subsidiaries to deal in securities, they have not taken adequate steps to become members on the BSE.

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