×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Uphaar fire tragedy: Delhi court orders 7-yr jail terms to Sushil & Gopal Ansal in evidence tampering case

The convicts, out on bail, were taken into custody after the order was pronounced
Last Updated 08 November 2021, 14:24 IST

A Delhi Court on Monday sentenced real estate developers Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal to seven years of imprisonment with Rs 2.25 crore fine each, after holding them guilty in the Uphaar Cinema evidence tampering case.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma rejected a plea for leniency in the sentence, saying it would be akin to closing the eyes to the agony and anguish of the victim and the public at large.

"Collective cry of the society must be responded by way of appropriate punishment to prevent re-occurrence of such crimes,” he said.

The court also awarded similar jail terms to other convicts P P Batra, Dinesh Chandra Sharma and Anoop Singh Karayat. It, however, imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on each of them.

In the case, the court found that critical documents that could prove the complicity of the Ansal brothers in the crime related to the 1997 fire tragedy were destroyed in conspiracy with the co-accused from the files.

This was done in order "to escape punishment by scuttling trial process (in the main case) and as such fiddled with our judicial system with great impunity," it said.

The accused were held guilty under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (breach of trust by public servant) and 201 (disappearance of evidence) of the IPC.

A devastating fire in Uphaar Cinema theatre in South Delhi on June 13, 1997 had claimed 59 lives and left scores others injured. The CBI, which investigated the case, had filed charge sheet against Ansal brothers. In 2003, it was found that some documents from the case files went missing, leading to the dismissal of the court staff.

Check out the latest DH videos here:

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 08 November 2021, 09:55 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT