My children’s soul must have found peace, said Neelam Krishnamoorthy, who lost her two children in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy, after a Delhi court on Friday convicted businessmen Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal, among others, in the case related to tampering with the crucial evidence in the case.
“We are fighting for justice for the last 24 years 5 months,” Krishnamoorthy said, adding that the trial was a struggle as there was a lot of pressure to take back the case. “During the trial, we have struggled a lot. We got death threats. We were also offered money to take back our cases,” she said. “These rich people think they can do anything. When the trial of the Upahaar case was going, these people tampered with the evidence. They tried to erase the evidence using money. We are all very happy with the judgment that has come today,” Krishnamoorthy said.
Krishnamoorthy said that along with her children, all the people who lost their lives in the 1997 tragedy have found peace with the verdict. “In the last several hearings, when this matter was being heard continuously, I have seen many people struggling as various allegations were levelled against them. But we are happy that we have won,” she said narrating the ordeal of the trail.
“I am not afraid of dying and neither am I afraid of anyone. I have lost my children. Looks like I was living only to get justice for my children,” Krishnamoorthy added.
A Delhi Court on Friday has convicted all the accused in evidence tampering matter related to the 1997 Uphaar tragedy case involving businessman Sushil Ansal, Gopal Ansal, and others.
Patiala House Court’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dr Pankaj Sharma on Friday found all accused guilty under IPC 409, 201, 120B while pronounced the order.
Along with the Ansal brothers, a court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and other individuals PP Batra, Har Swaroop Panwar, Anoop Singh, and Dharamvir Malhotra were booked in the evidence of tampering case.
Out of seven accused, two accused Har Swaroop Panwar and Dharamvir Malhotra died during the course of the trial.
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa has appeared in the matter for the complainant Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT). While Senior Advocate Pramod Kr Dubey and Advocate Tanveer Ahmad Mir appeared for the Ansal brothers in the matter. Final arguments lasted for consecutive 40 days in the matter. The prosecution was represented by AT Ansari Sr Public Prosecutor. The members of the Association are either those who were injured in the fire or are relatives of those who were injured or killed in the fire. At least 59 people died of asphyxia and over 100 others were injured in the stampede after fire broke out in Uphaar cinema on June 13, 1997, during the screening of J.P. Dutta’s film ‘Border’.