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Uphaar case: Ansal brothers held guilty
| Quantum of sentence will be announced by the sessions court today |
12 accused held guilty by the court
Four accused died during the trial
NEW DELHI: The decade-long wait for justice of the families of victims of the Uphaar fire tragedy has ended with a sessions court here, holding all the 12 accused, including cinema hall owners Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal, guilty. The court has fixed Wednesday for announcing the quantum of sentence.
Tragedy struck on June 13, 1997, when a fire broke out in the Uphaar cinema hall in Green Park, where Hindi film Border was being screened. The fire left 59 people dead and several others injured.
On Tuesday, Additional sessions judge Mamata Sehgal convicted the Ansal brothers under Section 304-A (causing death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), read with other sections pertaining to endangering the personal safety of other people. They were also found guilty under the Cinematography Act.
Seven other accused — Uphaar managers Radha Kishan Sharma and Ajit Chaudhary, assistant manager N.S. Chopra and gatekeeper Manmohan Uniyal; Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) inspectors B.M. Satija and A.K. Gera and senior fitter Bir Singh — were found guilty under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). They were also held guilty of endangering the personal safety of other people.
Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials Shyam Sunder Sharma and N.D. Tiwari (MCD) and Divisional Officer of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) H.S. Panwar were found guilty of causing death due to negligence and endangering personal safety.
Four other accused — cinema hall director R.M. Puri, deputy general manager K.L. Malhotra, Public Works Department executive engineer S.N. Dhandona and station officer, DFS, Sunder Dutt — expired during the trial.
Civil compensationThe court had earlier awarded civil compensation of more than Rs.19 crore, including Rs. 2.5 crore for the development of a trauma centre near the Safdarjung Hospital, to the victims.
The MCD, the DVB and the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Licensing) have deposited nearly Rs. 2.5 crore each with the High Court registry. The Ansals have deposited Rs. 3 crore. However, barring the DVB, all others have approached the Supreme Court, seeking reconsideration of the compensation amount.
Families not satisfiedThough relieved at the announcement of the verdict, most family members of the victims were not satisfied at the Ansal brothers “being let off lightly.”
The convener of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy, Neelam Krishnamoorthy, said the owners were the ultimate beneficiaries of all the alterations made in the cinema hall, which was one of the major causes for the large number of deaths. “Therefore, they should have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The managers and other officials have been held guilty under the same section, but they were not the ones making money,” she said.
The lawyer of the Ansal brothers, Prem Kumar, told mediapersons that they would challenge the verdict in the Delhi High Court.
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