Gas tragedy: Ex-Bhopal Collector, SP miss date with court

A local court today adjourned the hearing to February 6 in a case against then Bhopal District Collector Moti Singh and Superintendent of Police, booked for allegedly helping Warren Anderson, Chairman of Union Carbide Corp (UCC) escape from India, after the 1984 gas tragedy.
The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Bhubhaskar Yadav posted the hearing to February 6 after then District Collector Moti Singh and retired SP Swaraj Puri failed to appear before him.
Anderson, a US citizen, never deposed before the Bhopal Court for trial in the case related to world's worst industrial disaster, and was declared an absconder. He died in the US in 2013.

Both the officers, now retired, were charged under IPC Sections 212 (harbouring offender), 217 (public servant disobeying direction of law with intent to save person from punishment) and 221 (intentional omission to apprehend on the part of public servant bound to apprehend).
The CJM had on December 19 directed the two ex- officials to appear before him on January 13.
The Court was hearing petitions filed by Abdul Jabbar of NGO Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan and Bhopal Gas Peedit Sangharsh Sahyog Samiti, and Satinath Sarangi of Bhopal Group for Information and Action.

The case was filed after the activists sought action against the two former officers for allegedly helping Anderson escape from the country.

The CJM, in a separate case related to the gas tragedy, today served a notice to Dow Chemicals, asking it to appear before the Court for hearing on February 13. The notice was issued through an e-mail to Amy Wilson, a representative Dow Chemical, headquartered in US.
Dow Chemical acquired UCC after the tragedy.
Toxic gas leaked from UCC's now-defunct pesticide factory here on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984. Nearly 15,000 people were killed and lakhs maimed in the industrial disaster.
NGOs working for the gas victims and survivors have been demanding adequate compensation from Dow Chemical and justice for the affected people.