Bhopal gas tragedy: CBI prepares to seek Anderson’s extradition

With the Union cabinet finally giving the green signal, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is preparing to proceed against former Union Carbide Corporation chairman Warren Anderson, who held office when the Bhopal gas tragedy took place in December 1984. The CBI may dispatch its officers to investigate the case against Anderson abroad.

Though the CBI has sought to probe deep into UCC affairs for the last two decades, it was never allowed to do so by the Union government or the courts. Thus, with the latest Cabinet decision to come down hard on Anderson, the CBI has reason to feel vindicated.

The agency is likely to send teams to the US and to Hong Kong,
where the UCC’s head and regional offices respectively were located (UCC was purchased by Dow Chemicals a decade ago).

The agency intends to gather more evidence to enable it to prosecute Anderson under the stringent provision of Section 304 of the IPC (Culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

“A team is already preparing the extradition papers for Anderson and re-examining the other seven accused, including Keshub Mahindra,” a CBI official said. The other seven were senior and middle staff of Union Carbide India Ltd during the Bhopal disaster.