There is a view that National Stock Exchange (NSE) should have frozen the deals in the derivatives segment till the cheques submitted by retail investors were credited.

"The brokers did not even allow the retail investors to sell and buy at lower levels. They eventually asked the retail clients to fund the margin money or threatened to square up  their positions. They squared the positions at a loss. Who will bear these losses? The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) should have a filter for each lot (maximum of 10 per cent) in a falling market," said Ramani, an investor, by an email to Business Standard.

Since thousands of crores of rupees were involved (many analysts reckon that the losses amounted to over 10,000 crore), the brokerages had no option but to sell off the positions of investors, even though the action incurred their wrath.

"The biggest seller in the entire mayhem of January 21 was the NSE, who sold on behalf of the retail investors. The exchange did not give us more than 60 minutes for margin payment, which at that point was next to impossible. The margin call was for $2 billion (Rs 8000 crore), which could have been easily met had the NSE moved 1000 scrips from B1 to A group in the same way as Nifty margins were hiked from 5 to 37 per cent. This would have allowed an exit route for the retail investors. Even margin in the form of shares could have solved the crisis. The fact remains that if NSE itself is a party, the will to help market participants can't take centre stage," said a dealer.

On the dreadful day of January 21, the stocks plunged wiping off the networth of several millions of retail investors.

Stories of investors who dabbled in the high-risk high-profit derivatives segment, selling off their apartments in South Mumbai, are being heard on the streets.