The Uphaar victims will finally rest in peace after 24 years: Families

A Delhi court on Monday handed a seven-year jail term each to builders Gopal and Sushil Ansal for tampering with evidence pertaining to the Uphaar cinema fire incident which claimed 59 lives.

“I have kept the promise that I made to my children 24 years ago,” said Neelam Krishnamoorthy, who lost her two teenaged children in the fire at south Delhi Uphaar cinema on June 13, 1997.

Inside the ruins of Uphaar Cinema on the 20th anniversary of the fire tragedy that occurred on June 13, 1997. The cinema hall resembles a ghost-town, littered with shoes, bottles, fire-blackened seats, vehicles and debris from 20 years ago, in New Delhi in 2017. (HT Archive)

A Delhi court on Monday handed a seven-year jail term each to builders Gopal and Sushil Ansal for tampering with evidence pertaining to the fire incident which claimed 59 lives, and noted in a scathing verdict that their regrets over the incident were “hollow”. The court also imposed a fine of ₹2.25 crore each on the two. The court also cancelled their bail bonds, and directed that they be taken into custody immediately.

“As a mother, I have succeeded and I have kept the promise that I made to my children 24 years back. The journey has not been easy. A lot of times, I was threatened, intimidated and often humiliated and mocked during court hearings, but the mother in me kept reminding me of the promise I made. Just because my children are not there with me, I have not stopped being a mother,” said Krishnamoorthy, who has become the face of the protracted legal battle waged by the victims of the Uphaar tragedy.

Krishnamoorthy’s two children, Unnati (17) and Ujjwal (13), were among the 59 people killed, when a fire broke out at the cinema hall, during the screening of the film, Border.

She said since then she has relived the “horrid day” countless times before the courts and the media, hoping that one day the narration of the day would become less painful. “That loss can never be replaced, but at least today the 59 victims will rest in peace,” she said.

In 2015, after serving the first two years in jail, the Supreme Court allowed businessmen the Ansal brothers to walk free with a fine of ₹30 crore each, which was to be utilised to build a trauma centre in the city.

In 2019, the court issued a non-bailable warrant against the two in connection with a case of alleged tampering with evidence. The trial court convicted the Ansal brothers and three others for tampering with the evidence on October 8, 2021, but reserved its judgment.

Earlier, In 2020, the court dismissed a curative petition by a group formed by families of the victims, Association for Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), to review 2015 judgment.

In Monday’s verdict, the court finally sentenced the Ansals to seven years in jail, which, according to the victim families, is the first time in the country that someone is being convicted for the offence.

Naveen Sawhney, who lost his 21-year-old daughter, Tarika, in the tragic incident, said the last two decades were extremely difficult for his family. But the Monday’s verdict has given them some solace.

“After my daughter’s death, my wife was very disturbed. This incident has remained with us like a chronic wound. It gets particularly worse during her birthdays and other important occasions. This was a joint fight that all the 59 families fought together and we are happy to have got some relief,” Sawhney.

Krishnamoorthy also said that Monday’s judgement has restored her faith in the country’s legal system.

“This verdict was proof that you cannot cover up your sins with money and power, the law eventually will punish you,” Krishnamoorthy said.

In his order, chief metropolitan magistrate Dr Pankaj Sharma said, “It is important to note that in a sentencing process, it is not only the crime that is important but the criminal and his/her circumstances are also equally important. The circumstances during which the instant crime was committed show the deep disrespect which the convicts had for the law and the judicial process and for the victims,” the court ruled.

The magistrate said that “the foundation of judiciary is premised on the trust and confidence of the people and any action which is aimed to thwart the said foundation cannot be permitted and is required to be dealt with utmost strictness”.

“This case is not only related to prosecution and Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) but the sentencing in this case must respond to the cry of the society,” he noted in the order.