Bhopal enraged over sentencing in gas tragedy case

A day after the Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan P Tiwari delivered his judgement in the Bhopal Gas Disaster case, the city continues to seethe with anger at the sentences given to the accused.

The Bhopal Gas Disaster, which left more than 15,000 dead, is said to be the worst of its kind in the history of industrial world and the accused in it were given a sentence, more than 25 years after it took place.

The Convener of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangthan, Abdul Jabbar said the gas victims had to contend with two tragedies in their lives.

"The first tragedy occurred when the lethal Methyl Iso Cyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory in December 1984 and the second took place when the judgement was delivered yesterday," Jabbar said.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate had yesterday sentenced seven of the eight accused to imprisonment of two years each and slapped a fine of Rs two lakh each.

But less than two hours after the sentence was given, all the seven were granted bail and this rankles the people of Bhopal the most.

"It is really very said that the accused in the disaster have been let off with very mild sentences and they did not spend even a single night in jail," said Shamshad Bi, who herself is a victim of the disaster.