Bhopal victims cry injustice, vow to carry on fight (News Feature)

By Siddhartha Kumar Jun 7, 2010, 15:15 GMT

New Delhi - Bhopal gas leak survivors and activists termed Monday's guilty verdicts in the case as a mockery of justice and pledged to continue a battle to ensure that guilty chemical plant managers face stringent punishment 25 years after what is considered the world's worst industrial accident.

Lethal gas leaked out of the Union Carbide India Ltd pesticide plant in the central Indian city in December 1984, killing more than 15,000 and leaving many more to suffer from health ailments such as respiratory problems, blindness and birth defects.

In the first convictions in the disaster, eight former officials from the Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide Corp were given two-year jail terms after being found guilty of criminal negligence, usually applied in cases of motor accidents in India.

Furious about the mild punishment, campaigners said it was rank injustice to place 'diluted' charges in the industrial catastrophe.

'Today's verdict is a judicial disaster,' Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action said. 'People are angry that the charge in the world's worst industrial disaster has been converted to that of a accident.

They accused India's leading investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the prosecution of failing victims by watering down charges from the original accusation of culpable homicide, which could have led to 10-year prison terms.

'It shows that they [multinational companies] can get away with murder,' Sarangi charged. 'The judgement sets a sad precedent that Bhopalis' lives are expendable [and] what matters is foreign investment.'

'Our own government has deserted us in favour of the multinationals,' said Abdul Jabbar, convener of the Bhopal Gas-Affected Working Womens Union. 'The world was focused on this judgement, and there was nothing but injustice for thousands who died and still suffer.'

The victims groups also lashed out at the Indian judicial system for its glacial pace in deciding crucial cases after the trial court took 23 years to rule on the matter.

Prominent lawyer KTS Tulsi agreed with the activists, saying the investigating agencies mishandled the case.

'The Indian legal system moves like an elephant,' he told the NDTV network. '... It is the obligation of the judiciary that people get justice. Unfortunately, in this case, they have not got justice.'

Victims groups also expressed disappointment that the main defendant in the disaster, Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson, was still free as Indian agencies were unable to extradite him from the United States to face trial.

Emotions ran high among people in Bhopal who demanded capital punishment for the guilty soon after the verdict while Monday's ruling came against the backdrop of assurances by Indian leaders.

'The enormity of that tragedy of neglect still gnaws at our collective conscience,' Premier Manmohan Singh said in a statement marking the 25th anniversary of the disaster in December.

'It is incumbent on us, morally and legally, to do our utmost to support the surviving victims in every manner possible,' Vice President Hamid Ansari said.

Victims and their families, meanwhile, vowed to fight to the end and bring key accused like Anderson to justice.

'We have fought for 25 years, and we will keep fighting till we get justice,' activist Rashida Bee said. 'After us, our children will continue the fight.'

Sarangi said the activists would appeal before the high court.

'We won't let it go so easily,' he said. 'We will try and get Monday's decision reversed and see to it that they [the convicted] get at least 10 years' jail.'