Uphaar tragedy: Victims’ association for stricter laws

New Delhi: The Association of Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) has urged the government to enact strict law for those responsible for major fire tragedies in the country. AVUT president Neelam Krishnamoorthy said on Wednesday that her association has been consistently fighting to get justice for their loved ones, killed on June 13, 1997 at Uphaar Cinema  in one of the worst fire tragedies.

She said AVUT invested its faith in the criminal justice system and took up an arduous fight for justice in the hope that it would get justice for those who were killed in the tragedy.

She said: “But the final verdict of the Supreme Court we believe is certain to go down in the history as a travesty of justice.

The AVUT’s endeavour for the past 21 years has been to get justice for our loved ones and ensure implementation of   safety laws in public spaces so that no precious human lives are lost.”

She said in the Uphaar fire tragedy case, Sushil Ansal who had merely spent five months in jail — a pitiful two-and-a-half days in jail for each of the lives lost, was allowed to walk free by the Supreme Court because of his old age. “Years later, we have been again reminded of the insensitivity of our times. Someone accused of killing a blackbuck is sentenced to five years in prison.”