Ansal brothers surrender in Delhi court

NEW DELHI: Real estate tycoons Gopal and Sushil Ansal, who have been found guilty of  negligence in the Uphaar  fire tragedy case and sentenced to two years in  jail, surrendered before a local court on Thursday after  the supreme court cancelled their bail on Wednesday.

The family members of victims of the tragedy had filed a petition in the apex court seeking arrest of the brothers, who had secured bail soon after their conviction on November 23 last year in the decade-old case.

The victims’ families feared manipulation of evidence. They also appealed  to the court not to release  the Ansals’ passports as  the two could try to flee the country.

Fifty-nine people had died, mostly due to suffocation, after a fire broke out at Uphaar Theatre on March 13, 1997, during a screening of the Hindi movie Border. Though most people seated in the front row managed to escape, those in the balcony got trapped.

The Ansals had increased 52 seats in the balcony without prior permission, as a result of which emergency exits were blocked. The transformer at the theatre was also ill-maintained, which caused the fire.

“We have to go a long way to get justice in the case of negligence by the rich and mighty, but we are happy the Ansal brothers have been put behind bars.  We were very upset when the court granted them  bail earlier, allowing the murders of our children to walk free,” Neelam Krishnamoorty, who heads the association of victims of the tragedy, said.
v_gyan@dnaindia.net