By Rana Ajit, IANS
New Delhi : Set to get away Wednesday with a mild sentence of two years in jail, tycoon brothers Gopal and Sushil Ansal, held guilty of causing death due to negligence in the Uphaar fire which killed 59 people, should thank the CBI for providing them an easy escape route.
For the builder brothers, the way out of the criminal liability was paved the day the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Delhi Police had booked the Ansal brothers on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, entailing a jail term of up to 10 years on conviction.
The CBI, to which the case was subsequently transferred, however, sought Ansals’ prosecution on a much milder charge of causing death due to negligence, entailing imprisonment of merely two years.
After that fateful Black Friday of June 13, 1997, when 59 people were asphyxiated to death during the maiden screening of “Border” in the south Delhi cinema hall, Delhi Police had registered a first information report (FIR) at the Hauz Khas police station.
But the sheer enormity of the tragedy forced police to transfer the case to its Crime Branch, then headed by present Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh, for a deeper and focussed probe.
Singh, reputed to be a professional and tough cop, ordered slapping of charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder or those of unintentional killings under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the Ansals.
He decided to book the Ansals on the stringent charges after he and his team found that the tragedy had occurred not just because of negligence but also because of a systematic and wilful failure in observing safety norms for pecuniary benefits.
“It could not have been merely a negligent act. The theatre had installed fire safety systems, but water meant for feeding the fire safety system had been diverted for other purposes, ignoring the consequences of a possible fire in the theatre,” Singh told IANS about his decision a decade ago.
“Similarly, to earn a few thousand extra bucks per show, they had raised the number of seats in the balcony of the theatre, blocking the emergency exit route,” recalled Singh.
“Again, they had got an electrical transformer installed in the parking lot of the theatre, meant for parking the cars of spectators and it was this act which proved disastrous and literally provided fuel to the fire,” said Singh, adding that “all this could not be construed as simple negligence”.
The Crime Branch had arrested the Ansals under the non-bailable Section 304 of the IPC within days of the incident and sent them to Tihar Jail.
But the case was suddenly transferred to the CBI.
The CBI eventually completed its probe Nov 15, 1997. In its chargesheet, the CBI, however, chose to seek prosecution of the brother duo merely on charges of causing deaths due to their rash and negligent act under section 304 A.
On Tuesday, more than 10 years after the incident, Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal convicted Sushil and Gopal Ansal and 10 others in the case. The sentencing is due Wednesday.