Hasina Bi is among other victims of Bhopal gas tragedy who feel that the judgment is unfair; they promise to continue their fight for justice

'I lost 48 of my relatives'

Hasina Bi is among other victims of Bhopal gas tragedy who feel that the judgment is unfair; they promise to continue their fight for justice

The hopes of the thousands Bhopal gas tragedy victims were dashed yesterday, as the court of chief judicial magistrate, while holding the accused guilty of criminal negligence, granted them bail soon after. Even as they thought justice would be served, the accused seemed to have been let off easier than what the victims had wanted.

Union Carbide chairman Keshub Mahindra. File pic
No helping hand
"The government is hand-in-glove with the conspirators. The government agencies, and even the then chief minister Arjun Singh did their best to protect the people responsible for the disaster. The government, which claims to be on our side, is silently helping the perpetrators," she added.

Raisa Bi (50), lost her husband, two daughters and mother in-law in the tragedy. "They may think that we have lost the battle, but we are still hopeful they all will be hanged one day."

Shanti Devi's (65) son, Rajkumar, is the sole survivor among his five brothers and is suffering from a serious heart condition induced by the gas leak. Her husband and at least six other family members died. "We hoped to get interim relief from the court, but unfortunately the verdict is against the victims. We will fight the case till the day we die," she said.

"We never asked for compensation from the government. They approached us and said that they would give interim relief to the families. They have been cheating us for the last 25 years," she added.

Justice denied?

A new DELHI court yesterday held all the eight Indians accused, including former Union Carbide chairman Keshub Mahindra, guilty of criminal negligence and sentenced seven of them to two years in jail. However, they were later granted bail on surety of Rs 25,000 each. The accused have also been fined Rs 1 lakh each, while Union Carbide has been fined only Rs 5 lakh. One accused died during the course of the trial.

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