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Indian diplomat attacked in court by Chinese traders

BEIJING: An Indian diplomat was injured and hospitalised following an assault by a large group of Chinese traders in a court, as he tried to secure the release of two Indians who were held hostage by locals, demanding payment of their dues in the eastern business hub of Yiwu.

S. Balachandran, a diplomat at the Indian Consulate in Shanghai, was rushed to hospital when he fainted after being "manhandled" by the crowd that tried to snatch two kidnapped Indians who clung to him.

The incident happened when he was leaving the court after prolonged negotiations on the night of December 31.

The two Indians had been held hostage by the local traders for two weeks for non-payment of dues by their company, whose owner had allegedly fled the country.

Riva Ganguly Das, the Consul General of the Shanghai Consulate of India told PTI here that Balachandran, working as Consul at the Consulate, fainted when he was "manhandled" while attempting to get the release of Deepak Raheja and Shyamsunder Agrawal.

Balachandran, 46, tried to negotiate for their release for over five hours at a court in Yiwu, a big trading centre for a host of commodities.

He was assaulted when the two Indians, being held captive for over fortnight clung on to him to leave the surcharged place. The incident took place in the court and in the presence of police and the judge.

A high drama ensued as the crowd prevented the two from going along with him demanding that they pay millions of Yuan owed to them for commodities purchased from them. — PTI

9 children killed as bus, truck collide head-on

Ambala (Haryana): Nine children on their way to school were killed and 20 others were injured when the bus carrying them collided head-on with a truck amid heavy fog on Saha-Shahabad road near here this morning.

Police said visibility was poor due to a thick blanket of fog in the area and the two vehicles collided head-on.

The victims were in the age group of 5 to 8 years and were students of Arjun Public School, a private school located near Saha. The injured have been taken to the Civil Hospital in Ambala Cantt.

Senior officials of the Ambala district administration have rushed to the accident spot to help in rescue and relief measures.

Seven of those killed have been identified as Divya, Rahul, Rishab, Raveesh, Pulkit, Harish and Anu. — PTI

Foreigners can now invest directly in Indian stocks

NEW DELHI: The government on Sunday gave a New Year gift to the stock markets by allowing qualified foreign investors (QFIs), including overseas individuals, to invest directly in Indian stock markets. So far, QFIs were permitted to invest only in mutual fund schemes. 

"As a next logical step, it has now been decided to allow QFIs to directly invest in the Indian equity market in order to widen the class of investors, attract more foreign funds and reduce market volatility and to deepen the Indian capital market," the finance ministry said in a statement. Detailed norms are expected to be issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) over the next two weeks. 

By allowing QFIs, the government is opening a new avenue for investment, earlier controlled by foreign institutional investors. Foreign nationals, who wanted to invest in Indian stock markets, came through the sub-account route. Non-resident Indians were, however, permitted to invest directly. 

Briton charged with Anuj murder 

London: A 20-yr-old Briton has been charged with the murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve, who was shot in the head in Salford on Boxing Day in an unprovoked incident. Kiaran Stapleton, from Ordsall area, has been charged with murder.