New Delhi: A local court on Monday sentenced businessmen duo Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal, along with others, to 7 years jail term in connection with the case related to the tampering with crucial evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.
The Patiala House Court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.25 crore each on the Ansal brothers in the case. The Court also ordered to take Sushil and Gopal Ansal into custody forthwith on the same day. They were out on bail till Nov’ 8th in the Uphaar fire tragedy case. The fire tragedy took place on June 13, 1997 at Uphaar Cinema in Green Park, Delhi during the three o’clock while screening of Hindi Blockbuster movie Border, in which 59 cinegoers were trapped inside and died of asphyxiation, while 103 were seriously injured in the resulting stampede in the mishap.
Dr. Pankaj Sharma, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) of Patiala House Court told “I think it is very hard to reach out to this decision given the complexities involved. After some thinking over some nights, I have come to this conclusion that they deserve punishment,” in its order.
This sentencing was one of its kind, as nobody has ever been convicted for a longer period of time, for tampering of the court record, which is punishable up to life under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The Association of Victims for Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) has fought this battle since 2003, when the tampering was detected for the first time in the case. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered after 2003, and the accused are convicted now in 2021 in the case.
