Uphaar case: Hope rekindles for kin

“My son had gone to watch a film, when he didn't come till really late we got worried. Then we saw the news on TV what had happened. I went to AIIMS and found his body there.”

New Delhi: June 13, 1997 is a date that haunts Durga Das reminding him every year of his irreparable loss.

His son was among the 59 moviegoers who were charred to death when a raging inferno engulfed Uphaar cinema that evening.

A decade after the tragedy, 28 grieving families - brought together by the tragedy – are still fighting for justice.

“First you've lost everything then you're being traumatised, not allowed to go to court. The lawyer stands and says that he's the president of the bar council and that he'll make sure that I'm not allowed to enter Patiala House. For me I've decided that I don't care if I die but I have to get justice for my children,” says Neelam Krishnamurty who lost her children in the tragedy.

The association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy lodged an FIR alleging death due to negligence against the owners of the cinema hall Gopal and Sushil Ansal and 14 others including fire safety and MCD officers who had certified the place as safe from fire.

But justice still eludes them. An order by the Delhi High Court to complete trial in the case by December 2002 went unheeded and five years later, the trial is still on.

Now the Delhi High Court has stepped in once again making it mandatory for the trial judge to finish the case by August 31.

As the family members of the victims mark yet another tragic anniversary, hopes are high that their loved ones would finally get justice.

Major Fire Tragedies in India
Year	Place	Casualities
December 23, 1995	Mandi Dabwali, Haryana	425 dead
A school function in December 1995, turned into a major tragedy when a fire broke out in a school, which was holding its annual function. The state government ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal subsequently issued instructions that it be made mandatory for buildings holding such functions to have at least four gates, one on each side, so that people could escape in case of an emergency. There is a Dabwali Fire Victims Association, but it lacks the aggression and determination that ensured speedy justice for the Uphaar cinema victims.
June 13, 1997	Upahar Cinema hall, Delhi	59 dead, 103 injured
Fifty nine people had died and 103 were injured in an inferno at Uphar cinema hall, in New Delhi. The Association of Victims of Uphaar Fire Tragedy had sought compensation from Ansal Properties and Clubotel Ltd, which owned the theatre, and the Delhi government alleging that 'negligence' on their part led to the fire in the cinema hall. The Delhi High Court had ordered Rs 25 crore in compensation to the victims.
August 6, 2001	Erwadi village in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram district	28 dead
Mentally ill patients were charred to death when a fire broke out at a private mental asylum in Erwadi in Tamil Nadu. Bodies fettered in chains were all that remained after the fire broke out. These chains were tied to the feet of the mentally ill to stop them from escaping the asylum. The N Ramdas Commission, which inquired into the deaths, concluded that the inmates died as they had been fettered and tied to poles and immediate fire aid was absent. The caretaker of the house concentrated on retrieving their personal belongings, without taking steps to rescue the patients. Subsequent to the fire, the government imposed a ban on keeping patients in fetters.
January 23, 2004	Srirangam, Tamil Nadu	54 dead, 40 injured
The Srirangam wedding tragedy cost 54 lives. The only exit to the marriage hall was a narrow staircase. Subsequent to the tragedy, fire safety measures were made compulsory in marriage and community halls, with periodic inspections by fire service personnel and the local administration.
July 16, 2004	Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu	91 dead
A fire in the Saraswathi primary school in Kumbakonam, killed 91 children. The State police had asked the Education Department to introduce a separate chapter in the high school syllabus on fire prevention and fire fighting. In wake of the tragedy, Civil Defence and Fire Services decided to introduce a separate set of rules for all educational institutions under the Fire Force Act, 1964, to enforce proper fire prevention and fire-fighting measures.