Powerful people kill and walk away after paying money: Krishnamoorthy on SC Uphaar verdict

Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) convernor N. Krishnamoorthy on Thursday criticised the Supreme Court's verdict in Uphaar cinema tragedy case saying that the rich and powerful have special rights where they they can kill the children of ordinary citizens and walk away after paying some money.

"If this kind of judgement somebody is going to get after killing 59 people, then I think it is not worth coming to the court. It is a futile exercise. If they have to give a verdict like this, they should have told us, we wouldn't have even filed the review," Krishnamoorthy told media here.

Asserting that the curative petition is the only remedy available, she added they moved the apex court to get justice not a trauma centre in New Delhi.

"To hell with the bloody trauma centre, we don't care a damn," Krishnamoorthy added.

Krishnamoorthy also lashed out at the apex court for ending the jail term of Sushil Ansal citing his old age and said that there are lot of people who are 90-years old and have been incarcerated by the Supreme Court.

'Let's take old data and see how many old people are incarcerated in the jail all over the country. There are many old people who have been sentenced to jail. Why they have not been shown the same leniency as it has been shown to the Ansal brothers. Why should there be any disparity at all," she added.

Krishnamoorthy, whose young son and daughter died in the Uphaar fire tagedy, further said that in Uphaar fire tragedy case around 23 children were killed. This should be considered as heinous crime and the apex court should punish according to the grievousness of the offence, she added.

"May be they will not empathise with us because they have not lost any of their children. We have lost our children and only we can understand that pain. I should have picked up a gun and shot these guys the day my children died and it wouldn't have even matter if I had to stay behind bars," she said.

While hearing Uphaar fire tragedy case, the apex court earlier in the day dismissed the review petitions of AVUT and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and sentenced real estate baron Gopal Ansal to one year jail term while ending his brother Sushil Ansal's jail term citing his old age.

A three judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, and also comprising Justicers Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar passed the order.

As many as 59 people died and more than 100 injured in the subsequent stampede following a fire broke out during the 3-6 p.m. (Matinee show) screening of Hindi movie 'Border' on June 13, 1997.