By IANS
New Delhi : The Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) said it would approach the Delhi High Court against the two-year jail term handed down to Uphaar theatre owners Sushil and Gopal Ansal in the fire tragedy that snuffed out 59 lives 10 years ago.
The Ansals were granted bail by the court of Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal after they furnished a personal bond of Rs.25,000 each.
“It is very painful to see the Ansals walking out,” said Neelam Krishnamurthy, who heads AVUT, reflecting the view among many of the victims’ families present in the court.
“For 10 years, we have worked hard and attended thousands of hearings. Much frustration is there. We will go to the high court for stricter punishment to the Ansals,” said Krishnamurthy, who lost two of her children in the incident.
Shekhar Krishnamurthy, general secretary of AVUT, said: “The sad part is that the Ansals can still roam around as they have been granted bail.”
The fire had broken out in a transformer in the ground floor of the cinema complex, and most of the deaths were due to asphyxiation.
Some families, who were in a minority, expressed satisfaction over seven of the guilty being sent to jail for seven years.
Neelu Kapoor, who lost her 20-year-old daughter Rubi Kapoor in the tragedy, said the fact that seven convicts were taken into custody had, to some extent, reaffirmed her faith in the judiciary.
“My daughter was a BA final year sociology student. Her examination result came after her death. The convicts should have got harsher punishment,” she said.
Judge Mamta Sehgal first recited the Gayatri Mantra after walking into the courtroom in Patiala House and then asked the Ansal brothers to step forward.
As soon as they stepped forward, the judge announced the sentence, which the brothers could not hear properly. Sushil Ansal, raising his hand, asked the judge to speak a little louder.
“We are not able to listen, madam. Can we move forward or else could you be a bit louder,” said Sushil, who was looking very nervous just before the verdict was pronounced.
His nervousness was soon over when his lawyers came over to him and told him he had got bail.
The court also handed out two-year jail terms to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials Shyam Sunder Sharma and N.D. Tiwari and Delhi Fire Service officer H.S. Panwar. They were also released on bail.