Order for release of Ansal brothers in Uphaar fire: Court upholds Rs 2.25 crore fine; The aggrieved side said – injustice was done to us

Gopal Ansal and Sushil Ansal were released after a Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced them to tampering with evidence in the Uphaar cinema fire case. However, the fine of Rs 2.25 crore imposed on both has been retained.

The complainant cried in the court itself
Hearing the court’s decision, the complainant Neelam Krishnamurthy cried and said that injustice has been done to us. Justice Dharmesh Sharma consoled them saying that no one can compensate for their loss, but the age of the convicts was to be considered in the case.

Last day, the sentence of Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal was upheld in the same case. The court had said that no relief can be given to the Ansal brothers for tampering with the evidence.

Evidence was tampered with
Many facts came to the fore in the CBI investigation. The evidence was tampered with. On November 8, the magisterial court had sentenced both the brothers to seven years in jail and since then they were in jail. A fine of Rs 2.25 crore was also imposed on both of them. Even before this, there was a demand from the accused to suspend the sentence and release them on bail, which was rejected by the court.

The Ansal brothers were accused of tampering with evidence in the Uphaar cinema fire case.

What is the whole matter of fire
The screening of the film ‘Border’ was going on on 13 June 1997 at Uphaar Cinema in South Delhi. A fire broke out in a transformer on the ground floor of the cinema hall at around 5.45 pm. Before anyone could understand anything, the fire engulfed the entire hall. Some died of burns and some died of suffocation.

On June 13, 1997, the film ‘Border’ was set, due to which the cinema hall was overcrowded.

59 people were killed in the accident and more than 100 people were injured. Cars kept in the parking lot of the hall were also gutted. There were more people sitting in the cinema hall than capacity. Among the dead were women and young children. Investigation revealed that there were no proper security arrangements in the cinema hall to avoid the fire.

Chargesheet was filed against 16 people
On 22 July 1997, the police arrested Uphaar Cinema owner Sushil Ansal and his son Pranav Ansal from Mumbai. Two days later, the investigation of the case was handed over to the CBI from the Delhi Police. CBI had filed a chargesheet in the court on November 15, 1997 against 16 people including Sushil Ansal, Gopal Ansal while investigating the case.