Bhopal Gas Case Verdict FIXED Years Earlier

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Editor: NAGARAJ.M.R… VOL.4 issue. 25…… 23/06/2010

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Editorial : BHOPAL GAS VERDICT FIXED - Shame Shame to Supreme Court
of India & Supreme Court of USA

Now it is a known fact that Bhopal Gas Leak Case Verdict was FIXED
years before , MATCH FIXED by then MP Government Chief Minister ,
Indian Prime Minister and most shame fully Chief Justice of India.
Now The Final Verdict is out in Bhopal Gas Tragedy . This kind of
Injustice can only happen in banana republics , where rich crooks are
protected by authorities & courts. SHAME SHAME to supreme court of
India , supreme court of USA & Government of USA , for practicing
double standards in enforcement of law & justice.

Double standards of supreme court of India
http://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/is-the-supreme-court-of-india-deaf-dumb-blind

PIL Appeal & Show Cause Notice to Supreme Court of India
http://sites.google.com/site/eclarionofdalit/pil-appeal-show-cause-notice-to-supreme-court-of-india

In India, Favorable treatment is given by police & courts of law for
rich crooks where as poor innocents are harassed , tortured by the
very same police & judges . In india Some MP , MLAs even take money
for asking questions in parliament / legislature , Favourable laws are
enacted to legalize crimes of rich crooks for example : Illegal land
encroachments by rich crooks. The same MPs , MLAs are not aware about
problems of poor public , they don’t even open their mouth for asking
questions on welfare of poor , let alone enact laws for welfare of
poor. No government law , no decisions of judges , no orders of public
servants are sacrosanct . Hereby , e-voice urges the supreme court of
india ,
1. To legally prosecute the jurisdictional police who changed the
charge sheet , who let out Main criminal Anderson illegally without
orders from the court.
2. To legally prosecute the SSP , DC of the district , Then Chief
Minister of Madhya Pradesh & Then Prime Minister of GOI , who fully
aided the main accussed , criminal Anderson to escape , to jump law.
3. To legally prosecute Indian Public Servants , who were responsible
for withdrawing the case from US Courts of Justice.
4. To legally prosecute Then Chief Justice of India Justice Ahmadi &
His bench colleagues , who diluted the case by changing the clause
under which Anderson & others were charged.

The Public servants – Mps , MLAs , Judges , IAS / IPS officers ,
Police take thousands of rupees monthly salary , cars , bungalows , 5-
star hotel stay together with 5-star meal complete with alchoholic
drinks , 5-star health care at premium hospitals , business class air
travel , foreign tours , etc all at tax payer’s expense. After
enjoying to the hilt at taxpayer’s expense , these same public
servants don’t serve the public , they serve the rich crooks , anti
nationals in their greed for more money.

All the while the same poor tax payer suffers without justice . In
India more than 50 Crore people are barely surviving on a single piece
meal .Let the corrupt public servants eat their 5-star meals by the
side of the graves of Bhopal Gas Victims. Atleast this will open the
eyes of honest few in public service – police , judiciary &
parliament , it is a fond hope. Jai Hind. Vande Mataram.

Your’s sincerely,
Nagaraj.M.R.

HANG CORRUPT JUDGES , CORRUPT POLICE , CORRUPT TAX OFFICIALS… TO LAMP
POSTS
- Another independence struggle in India needed ?

After 62 years of india's independence the lives of commoners is far
worse than under britishers. The benefits of independence has reached
only few , thus creating islands of few ultra rich people surrounded
by vast sea of utterly poor. The rich people in nexus with those in
power , are getting favourable laws enacted to suit their ends. Those
in power are shamelessly enjoying 5-star luxuries all at tax payer's
expense , while more then 50 million are starving to death.

The criminalization of politics , executive & judiciary is almost
complete. The corruption has spread it's tentacles far & wide , there
is corruption from womb to tomb ,from maternity hospital to grave
yard. The injustices meated out , the atrocities perpetrated by by
public servants are worse than britishers.

Ideally in a democracy, the legal recourse of grievance redressal /
justice , when a commoner suffers injustice he can appeal to
respective government official or police for justice , still if
doesn't get justice he can appeal to court of law , further the
aggrieved can get the appropriate law enacted through his M.P / M.L.A.
The sad part in India is no public servant is neither aware of the
value of our hard won independence or the working of democracy.

When all the legal recourses to justice fail to respond , to provide
justice to the aggrieved , when corrupt judges-police-politician-
public servants act as a criminal nexus & block justice delivery, the
commoner has only 2 options , either to suffer in silence or to take
law into his own hands & get justice on his own.

Take for instance Bombay riots case several VVIPs – cabinet
ministers , police were found to be guilty of torture , murders of
innocents by justice sri Krishna enquiry commission. The government is
sitting over enquiry commission report. The court is not taking suo-
motto action in public interests a result , the guilty ministers &
police who are fit cases for death sentences are roaming free &
commiting more crimes , anti-national activities.

In some cases , involving the rich &mighty ,higher police officials ,
the cover-up begins right from start ie FIR Registration. Police
conduct name sake enquiry , investigation, suppress evidences ,
witnesses , destroy some of them , the prosecution takes a favourable
stand putting up weak arguments. Naturally, the guilty official ,
minister is acquitted by court for lack of evidences. So, the guilty
who should have been rightfully put behind bars , hanged goes scot-
free , to commit more crimes , more anti-national activities.

In such cases , if the suffering public give the legal punishment to
the guilty , which should have been given by the court but failed. Are
not such acts of public, to uphold law & dignity , national security
right & patriotic ? if any body terms it as crime , that means guilty
VVIPs , police , public servants should be left unpunished allowing
them to commit more crimes , anti-national activities. Is that right
from national security angle ? is it equality before law & equitable
justice ?

Do remember that our freedom fighters ,martyrs ,sri.kudiram
bose ,subhash Chandra bose , bhagath singh , veer savarkar others who
took violent path of independence struggle & killed inhuman british
officers, police & judges have contributed valuably ,immensely to our
freedom struggle. One of the main causes of origin of
naxalism ,separatist movements is the rampant corruption &
unaccountability of public servants in India.

In this back drop , in India anarchy is not far away. The days of
suffering public ,killing their tormentors corrupt police , corrupt
judges , corrupt tax officials ,etc is not far away. No police
security , no SPG cover can protect those corrupt , as police & SPG
personnel work for pay , perks and will be on the wrong side of law –
protecting criminals. The suffering public fighting for their
survival , on the right side of natural justice , protecting the
nation.

If the authorities term this act as illegal , crime then are the acts
of corrupt public servants legal ? is the cover-up of such corrupt
acts by police , vigilance officials & some judges by mis quoting /
misinterpreting , misusing law is right , legal ? the GOI has
created , funded , supported , given training , arms & ammunition to
various terrorist outfits like LTTE , MUKTHI BAHINI ,MQM in foreign
countries , resulting in destruction , mass murders of innocents
there . In india itself in assam , Kashmir , the GOI has created
counter terrorist outfits to reduce the reach of terrorist groups. The
bihar , jharkhand , chattisgarh state governments have created armed
gangs SALWA JUDUM to counter naxal outfits , are all these acts of
government right , legal ? the days of dogs death for corrupt is
quite nearby. it is high time , to the corrupt to reform , repent
themselves.

In our own experience, e-voice didn't get justice from authorities in
many cases of injustices brought before it , most shameful fact even
supreme court of India failed to register PILs , even shameful supreme
court of India even failed to give information as per RTI Act ,
utterly shameful supreme court of India failed to protect the
fundamental rights of editor of e-voice & obstructed him from
performing his fundamental duties. Still, e-voice believes in peace ,
democratic practices. E-voice firmly believes that violence should not
be practiced by anybody – neither state nor public.

Hereby, e-voice urges the corrupt public servants to mend their
ways , to uphold law & dignity of democratic institutions.
Atrocities , violence , corruption breeds more violence , invites
dog's death. Peace ,truth , honesty is the harbinger of prosperous
democratic nation. let us build a true democratic India , free of
corrupt public servants.


Shame! India sold its dead cheap
Shobhan Saxena,

Around 22,000 dead. More than 1,20,000 injured. Rs 1 lakh for each
body. Rs 25,000 for every poisoned lung and damaged heart and blinded
eyes. 26 years of long wait. And just 2 years in jail for the men who
committed the worst crime against the people of this country. And this
mockery of justice after such a long wait. Twenty six years after 40
tonnes of lethal gas seeped into the lungs of Bhopal, families of some
17,000 men, women and children are still waiting for the so-called
compensation. Thousands more are still waiting to be accepted as
victims. People of Bhopal are still drinking toxic water poisoned by
Union Carbide in December 1984. And the main culprit is living life
kingsize in a mansion in New York.

No country sells its people so cheap.
No country sells its poor so cheap.
No country sells its dead so cheap.

Today – on the day of Bhopal disaster judgment -- if there is a failed
state in the world, it’s India. It’s not Iraq. It’s not Somalia. It’s
not Sudan. It’s India.

India – its government, judiciary and corporates – accepted the
ridiculous amount of $450 million dollars for the people killed and
maimed by methyl isocyanate leaked from the Union Carbide factory in
the heart of Bhopal three decades ago. In all these years, the poor
victims have done everything they could to get justice and
compensation. They have cried and died on streets, sat hungry and
faced police lathis on roads and filed court cases in the hope that
one day they will get justice.

Today, they were denied justice. Today, they were told that they
should be happy with the peanuts thrown at them by Union Carbide.
Today, India proved once again that it doesn’t care for its poor.
Today, it was proved all over again that those who do politics in the
name of poor in this country, always rule for the rich.

What justification does CBI have for not being able to produce Warren
Anderson in court. The chairman of UC at the time of the gas attack
(it was not an accident, the gas leak was caused because of cost-
cutting steps taken by him) on the people of Bhopal, Anderson was
arrested and later released on bail. He ran off to US in 1986 and we
have not been able to find him or ask the US to extradite Anderson to
India. Why? The government says it doesn’t know where Anderson is.
What a lie. What a shame.

Last year, on a balmy July day, a bunch of victims danced on the
streets after hearing news that the Chief Judicial Magistrate of
Bhopal had ordered the CBI to arrest Anderson and produce him before
the court without delay. The court also asked the CBI to explain what
steps it had taken since 2002 to enforce the warrant and extradition
of Anderson, who was declared an absconder in 1992. Though the CBI and
US government failed to track Anderson, supporters of Bhopal victims
traced him to the elite New York neighbourhood of the Hamptons. In
2003, Greenpeace activists paid Anderson a visit at his home and
handed him an arrest warrant.

Today’s ridiculous judgment in Bhopal didn’t say anything on Anderson
as he is a “proclaimed offender”. This status suits him fine because
he doesn’t have to bother about coming to India and answer some very
crucial questions:

*Why did Union Carbide not apply the same safety standards at its
plant in India as it operated at a sister plant in West Virginia, US?

*On the night of the disaster, why did the six safety measures
designed to prevent a gas leak fail to function?

*Why was the safety siren, intended to alert the people living close
to the factory, turned off?

The victims have always alleged that Bhopal happened because of
negligence by the Union Carbide and that was caused by cost-cutting
measures taken by Anderson. Is it because of this reason that Anderson
has been 'hiding' in the US?

A criminal has a reason to hide, but what reason does our government
have to let a mass murderer like Anderson go scot-free. Is it because
he is an American? Can an American come to India kill people in this
country and run away with no consequences? That seems to be the case.
We are still struggling to get a chance to question David Headley
Coleman, an American citizen responsible for the worst terror attack
on an Indian city in 2008. Will we succeed in getting Headley
extradited to India? No way. Never.

Today, India proved that it doesn’t really care for its people,
particularly if they have been slaughtered by powerful people from the
most powerful nation in the world. Instead of taking on America and
fighting for justice for its poor, India is more than happy to sell
its dead cheap.

Rs 1 lakh for every body. Rs 25,000 for every blinded eye. This is the
cost of poor life in a failed state.

Bhopal gas tragedy: 8 found guilty, get bail

BHOPAL: The seven Indian Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) officials
convicted in the 26-year-old Bhopal gas tragedy case have been granted
bail and released on submission of a surety of Rs 25,000 by a trial
court in Bhopal, according to a Times Now report.

Earlier on Monday, eight accused, one of whom is deceased, were
sentenced to two years in prison for causing death due to negligence.

Reacting to the development, representatives of the tragedy's victims
and their families who have been protesting outside the court, said
they would approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court to allow the
slapping of more stringent charges against all those accused in the
case.

The Magistrate court in Bhopal on Monday convicted all eight Indians
accused in the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy case. A Rs 500,000 fine has
been imposed on UCIL.

Toxic gas leak from a Union Carbide pesticide factory in 1984 killed
thousands and left an unspecified number battered with diseases and
deformity - the toll of victims is still rising.

Despite Monday's conviction, there is little closure for victims.
Legal experts have alleged that there was an attempt to cover up the
case. It took the CBI three long years to file a chargesheet that many
believed was weak. Then in 1996 the charges were watered down making
all sections carry the maximum punishment of 2 years.

The charges were also all bailable and with the prime accused in the
case - former Union Carbide (USA) chairman Warren Anderson still on
the run and unlikely to present himself in Indian court, there is
little hope that justice will be served.

Anderson: The man who got away in Bhopal gas case
Chidanand Rajgahtta,

Long before British Petroleum, there was Union Carbide; long before
David Headley aka Daood Gilani, there was Warren Anderson.

As legal proceedings in the Bhopal gas tragedy meanders on, its
torturous path over 26 years a travesty of justice to many, two
principals associated with the disaster have faded from sight even as
newer culprits in most recent outrages (BP oil spill and Mumbai's
26/11 massacre) are in the spotlight.

Union Carbide, the American chemical company that became notorious for
the world's worst industrial disaster, is now a wholly owned
subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company. And Warren Anderson, Union
Carbide CEO, at the time of the disaster and until his retirement in
1986, declared an absconder and a fugitive from justice by an Indian
court, lives in relative anonymity and seclusion in Long Island, New
York.

Both have washed their hands off the Bhopal disaster. Union Carbide
says its officials were not part of this case since the charges were
divided long ago into a separate case. "Furthermore, Union Carbide and
its officials are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Indian court
since they did not have any involvement in the operation of the plant,
which was owned and operated by Union Carbide India Ltd, (UCIL)" a
spokesman for the company told Wall Street Journal.

The company maintains that the Bhopal plant was designed, owned,
operated and managed on a day-to-day basis by UCIL and its employees
and all those convicted are the "appropriate people from UCIL —
officers and those who actually ran the plant on a daily basis have
appeared to face charges."

"I want you to know that Union Carbide continues to have the utmost
respect and sympathy for the victims of the tragedy and their
families. Union Carbide did all it could to help the victims and their
families from Day 1 right up through the settlement with the Indian
government," the spokesman added.

Anderson isn't talking. He hasn't spoken on record on the subject for
nearly two decades. Now nearing 90, he lives with his wife Lillian in
a million-dollar home in the swish Long Island neighbourhood of
Bridgehampton, avoiding social contact and hiding from the media and
activists who have struggled long to bring him to justice.

When Casey Harrell, a Greenpeace activist, visited his home in 2002 to
serve him a warrant, he refused to identify himself and pretended to
be someone else.

A neighbour also tried to throw Harrell off-track saying he was
someone else and blurting out that he had nothing to do with the
Bhopal disaster (even though Harrell hadn't mentioned anything about
the disaster).

Bhopal gas case: SC shot down move to slap tough charges
Dhananjay Mahapatra ,


NEW DELHI: It will be unkind to blame the trial court for handing out
mild punishments to the Bhopal gas leak accused whose collective
negligence caused an industrial catastrophe. For, the court's decision
to frame charges against them under Section 304-II of IPC — that
attracts a maximum jail term of 10 years — was set aside by the
Supreme Court itself on September 13, 1996.

Appearing for CBI, then additional solicitor general Altaf Ahmed had
argued before the SC that the accused knew about the potential danger
of the lethal gas escaping and hence should be tried under the
stringent provision.

"There was ample material produced by the prosecution in support of
the chargesheet which indicated that all the accused shared common
criminal knowledge about potential danger of escape of the lethal gas
— MIC — both on account of the defective plant which was operated
under their control and supervision at Bhopal and also on account of
the operational shortcomings detected by the Varadarajan expert
committee," Ahmed had said in court.

However, a bench comprising then Chief Justice A M Ahmedi and Justice
S B Majmudar disagreed. "On our finding that the material pressed in
service by the prosecution does not indicate even prima facie that the
accused were guilty of an offence of culpable homicide and, therefore,
Section 304-II was out of the picture, Section 304-A on this very
finding can straightaway get attracted at least prima facie," the
bench said. It then quashed the charge framed against the accused
under Section 304-II.

As legal experts decried Monday's verdict and activists involved in
rehabilitation of the victims termed it a mockery of justice, TOI
tracked down Altaf Ahmed in Dubai. Ahmed expressed disappointment, not
with the trial court verdict but with the SC's 1996 judgment.

"The dilution of the charges against the accused persons in 1996 by
the Supreme Court was very sad and in my perception not justified," he
said.

And why did he feel so, when the SC had gone through the evidence and
CBI's chargesheet in detail while giving its 40-page judgment? Ahmed
felt the apex court had erred by converting the charges from Section
304-II to Section 304A (death caused by a rash and negligent act,
under which the BMW hit-and-run accused was tried). "The management of
Union Carbide knew that necessary safety measures were not in place
and a leak of the kind that resulted in the tragedy was a distinct
possibility," he said.


END 25 YEARS OF INJUSTICE TO PEOPLE OF BHOPAL

Shortly before midnight on 2 December 1984, thousands of tonnes of
deadly chemicals leaked from Union Carbide’s pesticide plant in
Bhopal, central India. Around half a million people were exposed.
Between 7,000 and 10,000 people died in the immediate aftermath and a
further 15,000 over the next 20 years.
Nearly 25 years later, the factory site has not been cleaned up. More
than 100,000 people continue to suffer from ongoing health problems.
Efforts to provide rehabilitation – both medical care and measures to
address the socio-economic effects of the leak – have fallen way
short
of what is needed.
Many of those affected are still waiting for adequate compensation
and
the full facts of the leak and its impact have never been properly
investigated. No one has ever been held to account for what happened
at Bhopal and efforts by survivors’ organizations to use the Indian
and US court systems to see justice done and gain adequate redress
have so far been unsuccessful.
Bhopal is not just a human rights tragedy from the last century – it
is a human rights travesty today. The legacy of Bhopal persists
because the people of Bhopal have never been able to claim their
rights. Moreover, the negative impacts of the leak are affecting new
generations. Studies have shown how the exposure to the toxic gas
causes long-term effects, which can continue in children born in gas-
exposed families.
For 25 years the Indian government has failed the people of Bhopal.
Promises have been repeatedly broken and no adequate action has ever
been taken to address the impacts of the gas leak.
No company can be allowed to evade responsibility for the impacts of
its operations. Union Carbide must be held to account for what
happened at Bhopal. Dow Chemicals, which now owns Union Carbide, must
cooperate fully with the Indian government and the courts in India to
ensure justice is done and the site is fully cleaned up.
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY 1984 -Bhopal, India

At the first instance the Government of India failed to ensure that
Union carbide India Limited (U.C.I.L) has installed proper safety
measures and fully implemented it in practice, at it's plant in
Bhopal. The Government of Madhyapradesh through it's labour
department, factory inspectorate & pollution control board failed to
enforce safety practices & environmental protection. In turn, the
U.C.I.L didn't install in full, the safety measures being followed by
it's parent company union carbide corporation (U.C.C) at it's
Various plants in the U.S.A. The U.C.I.L. didn't give community
training to residents of nearby localities, to cope up with
emergencies ie. Industrial accidents. U.C.I.L gave a go - by to
safety
practices, as it treated Indian lives as cheap. The government of
Madhya pradesh instead of shifting slum dwellers around U.C.I.L, to
other safe place, gave them legal title deeds just months before the
tragedy in 1984.
Now, refer the following:-
1. After the accident at it's U.C.I.L. plant at Bhopal, India in
1984,
when the U.C.C. Chairman/C.E.O. came over to Bhopal from U.S.A to
visit the accident site, local police arrested him on the charges of
manslaughter. However, the Government of India got him released.
2. In 1985, Government of India enacted "Bhopal claims Act" took-
away
the right of appeal of all the Gas tragedy victims & declared itself
as the sole representative of all victims. This said act itself is
violative of victim's fundamental & human rights. The
victims didn't choose Government of India as it's representative
under
will, agreement, trust or pleasure.
3. The paradox of this "Bhopal claims Act" is that, Government of
India which is also a party to the crime, tragedy, itself is the
appellant. The appellant (Petitioner),defendant are Government of
India, Prosecution by Government of India & Judged by Government of
India.
4. In 1989, when an appeal about interim compensation to be paid by
the U.C.I.L to all the victims was being heard in the apex court, the
supreme court of India without giving a chance to the victims to make
their point, without consulting them, without making a proper
assessment of damages/losses, gave an arbitrary figure as verdict &
dropped all civil, criminal proceedings against U.C.C.&U.C.I.L
5. In the same year 1989, the Government of India without consulting
the victims of disaster, without making proper assessment of damages/
losses, negotiated a settlement with the U.C.C. and in turn gave full
legal immunity to U.C.C.& U.C.I.L from civil &
Criminal proceedings
6. Even the Government of India didn't present the case of victim's-
gas tragedy victims, properly before the U.S.courts, where the U.C.C
is based. All these premeditated acts only benefited the criminals-
U.C.C&UCIL. Are not the supreme court of India & Government of India,
here to safeguard Indians and to safeguard Justice?
After all these crimes, the Government of India failed to distribute
compensation in time to victims. It has failed even to provide safe
drinking water to the residents near the accident site, It has failed
to provide comprehensive medical care to the victims, till
date . It has even failed to get the accident site cleared off toxic
wastes either by the culprit management or by it self, that too after
20 years. The very presence of these toxic wastes since 20 years is
further contaminating, polluting the environment and taking toll of
more victims.
Particularly in the case of "Bhopal Gas Tragedy" the supreme court of
India & Government of India are deadlier criminals than
U.C.I.L&U.C.C.
Just consider a case here, Just a few years back an U.S.based M.N.C
ENRON set-up a power project in Maharashtra, India through it's
subsidiary. When Maharashtra state Electricity Board failed to lift
power from Enron& pay them monthly guaranteed revenue, Enron
threatened to invoke, open the "Eschrew Clause" with the Government
of India & to approach international arbiter U.K. Government of India
has stood as conter-guarantee in this case. Finally the Government
paid, of course subsequently the parent ENRON collapsed due to other
reasons. If in this case if Government of India failed to pay-up as a
counter guarantee & refused to comply with the award of International
arbiter, definitely Government of U.S.A. would have stepped into the
scene to protect it's MNC. Hypothetically, In the same vein if Enron
has caused damages to Indians either through negligence of safe
practices or industrial accidents or bank frauds
amounting over and above it's Capital base & insurance cover, then it
would have been the duty of parent Enron & Government of U.S.A. to
step in & pay-up.
In the same way, the U.C.I.L has caused massive damages to Indians &
refusing to pay commensurate to damages. Dow chemicals which took-
over U.C.C. is also refusing to pay. DOW chemicals which is the new
owner of U.C.C. naturally inherits both profits, credits lent &
liabilities to pay of U.C.C. Still it is refusing to pay. Now it is
the turn of Government of U.S.A. to cough-up the sum.
Nowadays, it has become routine for central & State ministers to go-
on foreign jaunts, to globe -trott inviting F.D.I/ M.N.Cs to India.
They do sign numerous agreements, only favouring MNC. When tragedies
occur or when they cheat Indian banks/ investors, it is Indians who
suffer. The ministers & bureaucrats thinks themselves as wizards and
enters into agreements with MNCs, industrialists in a hush-hush
manner, with vast scope for possible corruption. Is it not the duty
of
government to be transparent ?

An appeal to honourable supreme court of USA & HE Honourable
president
of USA Mr.Obama

Your government protects all Americans, all American companies both
inside America & abroad. If an American tourist is murdered in a
third
country , American investigators fly over to that country to conduct
investigation in total disregard to local laws. In the same way , if
the interests of an American company is threatened in a third country
American government goes to it's rescue.

However , when an American company butchers , causes mass man
slaughter in a third country , as an American company did in Bhopal
India , no action by American government. Still the said American
company has not removed , cleared the accident site of poisonous
debris at Bhopal India since decades and still causing mass man
slaughter , no action by American government why ?

Some US based companies are selling soft drinks , food products ,
medicines , drugs in third world countries , which are causing grave
health damages to the public. The quality standards of these products
are fit cases of rejections by US FDA. Some US companies are selling
drugs ( which are banned in the USA ) to third world countries ,
still
us companies are exporting such dangerous medicines , foods to third
countries . no action by US government , why ? is it because you
think
that the lives of non Americans are cheaper than Americans ?

Hereby, I do request your kindself ,

1 . to initiate criminal prosecution against US based key management
personnel responsible for Bhopal gas tragedy .

2 . to make either the respective company management or US government
to pay compensation to victims of Bhopal gas tragedy on par with
American lives , as if the same tragedy happened in the USA itself.

3 . to order the management of the said company to clean up Bhopal
off
poisonous debris , from the accident site at their own expense.

4 . To legally prosecute US exporters & US based companies selling
products ( which violates US FDA regulations or banned in the USA
for
domestic consumption ) to third countries.

WHY MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES ARE INVESTING IN INDIA?

We condemn the brutal massacre by police on farmers – who are going to
loss all their lands , sources.of livelihood for the sake of special
economic zones , industrial parks , etc in various states of India.

In every mega projects undertaken by government , both the state
government & central government have functioned like REAL ESTATE /
COMMISSION AGENTS for the rich & mighty . the government says it is
acquiring lands for development of industries , for public good. In
reality there is only good of rich & mighty.

For forming S.E.Zs , corporates gets speedy single window approvals
from government , lands at concessional rates – lower than market
value , soft loans from Indian banks , tax exemptions for years from
the government , dedicated power supply , etc , from the government .
these corporates are even given free hand to raise share capital in
the Indian market. the government has enacted flexible labour laws
specifically for S.E.Zs , they can hire & fire without bothering to
pay gratuity , etc and they are exempted from providing P.F / E.S.I
coverage to their employees ie they need not worry about the
occupational health hazards of their employees , they can employ them
till they are fit & throw them on streets afterwards. These corporates
take our own money, employ our own people , use our own natural
resources & finally take away the net profits to their home
countries – what they give back ? – environmental pollution , tax
evasions , low paid occupational hazardous jobs to locals , stock
market scams .


During Previous License Regime foreign, investment was not directly
welcome in India. As people at that time perceived it as "Neo
colonisation" & detested it. There were various restrictions on
foreign investments. The local industrialists under monopolistic
environment thrived, who were no way better than day light robberers,
of course with a few exception. Under the political patronage, the
cunning industrialists looted public money, cheated the government of
tax, cheated lending banks & cheated the investors
too. They easily flouted labour laws & made labourers to work in
inhuman conditions.

During 1990's under the international pressure India signed GATT &
slowly started opening it's economy. Now, from 01/01/05 even product
patent has come into force in India. Are MNCs bringing high technology
intensive industries to India? No, not at all. They are actually
denying sophisticated technologies to India. They are only
bringing the FMCG industries - salt, chips, ketch-up, colas, for which
India is a huge home market. They are into services like Hotels,
medical care, marketing. In other cases, they are just marketing the
products manufactured at their bases in U.S.A. or Europe.

They are not bringing in new production technologies in the areas like
space research, nuclear energy, bio-technology, pharmaceuticals or
pollution control, to India. Also, some MNCs are relocating their
highly polluting industries to India, as they are subjected to
stringent environmental protection standards in their own home
countries. Whereas, In India the Government is highly corrupt & can be
bought for a price. The attractive points for foreign direct
investment (FDI) in India are,

1. There is lack of comprehensive environmental norms.

2. The enforcement of environmental norms is lax.

3. The cost of health coverage, social security net to be provided to
the workers exposed to the occupational hazards is less.

4. The cost of compensation to be paid to the persons-who died or
suffered damages due to occupational hazards/environmental pollution
is meager.

5. The enforcement of labour laws are lax.

6. Public money can be easily raised through lending Banks, primary
market within India & the public can be easily cheated.

7. The tax can be evaded through various loopholes like transferring
money to holding companies situated at Mauritius or countries which
have double taxation avoidance agreement with India.

8. The tax can be evaded, company money can be cheated by lending
money to sister / holding concerns at low interest rates or by selling
shares, materials to their private companies at low rates or by buying
shares, materials from their holding/sister concerns at exhorbitant
rates, etc.

9. The corporate governance laws are almost absent in India & it's
enforcement nil.

10. Above all, the time can be bought by very slow Indian legal
system, if any dispute arise.

11. On top of it, well trained, technically qualified people are
available at low rates through contractors.

Just consider the following cases which highlight the apathy,
irresponsibility of government of India and emboldened the cunning,
MNCs:-

1. The India which boasts of so much scientific/technological
advancements, is till date has been unable to provide potable water to
it's people. People of west Bengal , Karnataka , Andrapradesh states
are forced to drink Arsenic, Fluoride poisoned water.

2. The people living near the mines of R.E.M.P. in Kerala are
suffering due to exposure to the radio active materials, Same is the
case with the people of Jadaguda, Jharkhand, living near the U.C.I.L.
plant. Both M/S R.E.M.P & M/s U.C.I.L are department of atomic energy
enterprises.

3. Few years back, In Mysore railway station containers of radio-
active materials were left unattended. The dome of reactor building at
construction stage collapsed in nuclear power plant at Kaiga. A fire
tragedy occurred in Kakrapar nuclear power plant. In the recent
Tsunami waves onslaught, certain important facilities of Koodakulam
atomic plant were damaged near Chennai.

4. In 1984, U.S. based MNC union carbide mass murdered nearly 20,000
people, injured lakhs who are still suffering health problems. The
polluted poisonous accident site i.e. Union carbide plant in Bhopal is
not yet cleared off toxic materials even after 20 years.
This is still further damaging the residents of Bhopal.

5. In the above union carbide disaster, the Government of India didn't
present the case properly before supreme courts of India & U.S.A.. As
a result the MNC just paid a pittance as compensation. As per that the
cost of Indian lives are just a fraction of cost of
American lives. Just imagine if a same disaster occurred in U.S.A. at
the plant of a MNC headquartered in India, what would have been the
consequence?

6. In India, hazardous chemicals laced with food additives are passed
through the drinks, beverages like pepsi, cola, coco cola very easily.

7. The medicines like nimesulide, paracetamol, etc. with hazardous
side effects which are banned in U.S.A.& Europe, are easily marketed
by the same U.S.& Europe based MNCs in India.

8. In India spurious drugs, medicines, food stuffs are easily
marketed.

9. In India, the clinical trials of new medicines under research are
done without proper compensation structure to those being tried upon
ie. Virtual guinea pigs.

10. In India, the genetically engineered BT crops are being introduced
without paying attention to formers, ecology or eco-system.

11. In India, during setting up of large projects, scant attention is
paid to environment, eco-system & the displaced persons.

Most of the times, in government projects itself the displaced persons
are cheated by the government in numerous ways.

12. In India, various Government as well as private hospitals dumps
hospital wastes with deadly viruses in the open, with scant regard to
public health.

13. In India, aged ships belonging to foreign countries are breaked
down to scrap in ship breaking yards of Gujarath , Maharashtra & AP.
Various toxins like the Asbestos, lead, etc & the hazardous, dirty
water, Oil inside the ship are drained into Indian seashore. The
labourers here are forced to work without any safety gears.

14. When specific cases of human rights violations were brought before
the government & Judiciary by us , both of them didn't respond at all.

All the above cases highlight the fact that, government of India &
Indian judiciary treats it's citizens lives as cheap, dispensable at
will. This is the major attracting force for MNCs to India.

BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY 1984 -Bhopal, India


At the first instance the Government of India failed to ensure that
Union carbide India Limited (U.C.I.L) has installed proper safety
measures and fully implemented it in practice, at it's plant in
Bhopal. The Government of Madhyapradesh through it's labour
department, factory inspectorate & pollution control board failed to
enforce safety practices & environmental protection. In turn, the
U.C.I.L didn't install in full, the safety measures being followed by
it's parent company union carbide corporation (U.C.C) at it's
Various plants in the U.S.A. The U.C.I.L. didn't give community
training to residents of nearby localities, to cope up with
emergencies ie. Industrial accidents. U.C.I.L gave a go - by to safety
practices, as it treated Indian lives as cheap. The government of
Madhya pradesh instead of shifting slum dwellers around U.C.I.L, to
other safe place, gave them legal title deeds just months before the
tragedy in 1984.

Now, refer the following:-

1. After the accident at it's U.C.I.L. plant at Bhopal, India in 1984,
when the U.C.C. Chairman/C.E.O. came over to Bhopal from U.S.A to
visit the accident site, local police arrested him on the charges of
manslaughter. However, the Government of India got him released.

2. In 1985, Government of India enacted "Bhopal claims Act" took- away
the right of appeal of all the Gas tragedy victims & declared itself
as the sole representative of all victims. This said act itself is
violative of victim's fundamental & human rights. The
victims didn't choose Government of India as it's representative under
will, agreement, trust or pleasure.

3. The paradox of this "Bhopal claims Act" is that, Government of
India which is also a party to the crime, tragedy, itself is the
appellant. The appellant (Petitioner),defendant are Government of
India, Prosecution by Government of India & Judged by Government of
India.

4. In 1989, when an appeal about interim compensation to be paid by
the U.C.I.L to all the victims was being heard in the apex court, the
supreme court of India without giving a chance to the victims to make
their point, without consulting them, without making a proper
assessment of damages/losses, gave an arbitrary figure as verdict &
dropped all civil, criminal proceedings against U.C.C.&U.C.I.L

5. In the same year 1989, the Government of India without consulting
the victims of disaster, without making proper assessment of damages/
losses, negotiated a settlement with the U.C.C. and in turn gave full
legal immunity to U.C.C.& U.C.I.L from civil &
Criminal proceedings

6. Even the Government of India didn't present the case of victim's-
gas tragedy victims, properly before the U.S.courts, where the U.C.C
is based. All these premeditated acts only benefited the criminals-
U.C.C&UCIL. Are not the supreme court of India & Government of India,
here to safeguard Indians and to safeguard Justice?

After all these crimes, the Government of India failed to distribute
compensation in time to victims. It has failed even to provide safe
drinking water to the residents near the accident site, It has failed
to provide comprehensive medical care to the victims, till
date . It has even failed to get the accident site cleared off toxic
wastes either by the culprit management or by it self, that too after
20 years. The very presence of these toxic wastes since 20 years is
further contaminating, polluting the environment and taking toll of
more victims.

Particularly in the case of "Bhopal Gas Tragedy" the supreme court of
India & Government of India are deadlier criminals than U.C.I.L&U.C.C.

Just consider a case here, Just a few years back an U.S.based M.N.C
ENRON set-up a power project in Maharashtra, India through it's
subsidiary. When Maharashtra state Electricity Board failed to lift
power from Enron& pay them monthly guaranteed revenue, Enron
threatened to invoke, open the "Eschrew Clause" with the Government
of India & to approach international arbiter U.K. Government of India
has stood as conter-guarantee in this case. Finally the Government
paid, of course subsequently the parent ENRON collapsed due to other
reasons. If in this case if Government of India failed to pay-up as a
counter guarantee & refused to comply with the award of International
arbiter, definitely Government of U.S.A. would have stepped into the
scene to protect it's MNC. Hypothetically, In the same vein if Enron
has caused damages to Indians either through negligence of safe
practices or industrial accidents or bank frauds
amounting over and above it's Capital base & insurance cover, then it
would have been the duty of parent Enron & Government of U.S.A. to
step in & pay-up.


In the same way, the U.C.I.L has caused massive damages to Indians &
refusing to pay commensurate to damages. Dow chemicals which took-
over U.C.C. is also refusing to pay. DOW chemicals which is the new
owner of U.C.C. naturally inherits both profits, credits lent &
liabilities to pay of U.C.C. Still it is refusing to pay. Now it is
the turn of Government of U.S.A. to cough-up the sum.

Nowadays, it has become routine for central & State ministers to go-
on foreign jaunts, to globe -trott inviting F.D.I/ M.N.Cs to India.
They do sign numerous agreements, only favouring MNC. When tragedies
occur or when they cheat Indian banks/ investors, it is Indians who
suffer. The ministers & bureaucrats thinks themselves as wizards and
enters into agreements with MNCs, industrialists in a hush-hush
manner, with vast scope for possible corruption. Is it not the duty of
government to be transparent ?

Bhopal gas case: ex-CBI men, Moily fight verbal war as Warren Anderson
goes scot-free

New Delhi: Bhopal gas tragedy prime accused Warren Anderson’s failed
extradition has kicked off a war of words between former CBI
investigators and the law minister.
You may also want to see
• India trying for Anderson's extradition: Pranab Mukherjee
• Set up independent probe on Bhopal, ministerial group will not do:
CPI(M)
• Bhopal gas tragedy: Justice Ahmadi refuses to join the blame game
• BJP for JPC probe into 'misuse' of CBI
• BJP demands Anderson escape order from Congress
Related videos
• Amendment in law to prevent Bhopal like tragedy: Solicitor general
• BJP seeks withdrawal of nuclear liability bill
• Bhopal gas leak tragedy convicts released on bail
Complete Coverage
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy
Officers who probed the case but have now retired claim their hands
were tied by government missives directing CBI not to pursue
Anderson’s extradition.
In fact, the government had committed to the US that Anderson would
not be arrested during his visit to Bhopal in the aftermath of the
tragedy. Accordingly, he was allowed to return.
Former CBI joint director BR Lall, who briefly investigated the case,
recalls receiving a letter from the ministry of external affairs to
not pursue Anderson’s extradition.
“I distinctly remember receiving a routine letter which said Warren
Anderson’s extradition may not be pursued. Normally, directions are
not received through letters. It was a rare case,” he told DNA, making
a case for greater autonomy to CBI.
“We [CBI] had responded to the letter that investigations required
[Anderson’s] extradition,” Lall said.
His boss, former CBI jointdirector Joginder Singh, said there was
little the agency could have done.
“CBI did its best to investigate the case fairly and push for
Anderson’s extradition. But our hands were tied. In 1996, we got a
major blow when the Supreme Court deleted criminal sections from the
case.”
The CBI charge sheet mentioned section 304 IPC (culpable homicide with
a maximum punishment of 10 years). However, the charges were watered
down to 304 (a) (death due to negligence), usually used in cases of
road accidents.
“With such a mild section, it is impossible to get an extradition
anywhere. The moment 304 was quashed, half the case was lost,” Singh
said.
Law minister Veerappa Moily refuted the allegations. Reacting sharply
to Lall’s claims, he said, “After retirement people can give many
statements. It is an irresponsible statement. This is not done at all.
I think we need to do something to deal with such people who fail to
discharge their duty and after retirement, try to become heroes or
martyrs of the situation.”

New Delhi: A former senior CBI official, involved in the Bhopal gas
leak case investigations, today claimed that the probe was
"influenced", generating a strong reaction from law minister M
Veerappa Moily who termed the remarks as "irresponsible."
You may also want to see
• India trying for Anderson's extradition: Pranab Mukherjee
• Set up independent probe on Bhopal, ministerial group will not do:
CPI(M)
• Bhopal gas tragedy: Justice Ahmadi refuses to join the blame game
• BJP for JPC probe into 'misuse' of CBI
• BJP demands Anderson escape order from Congress
Related videos
• Amendment in law to prevent Bhopal like tragedy: Solicitor general
• BJP seeks withdrawal of nuclear liability bill
• Bhopal gas leak tragedy convicts released on bail
Complete Coverage
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy
The officer, BR Lall, former joint director of the agency and in-
charge of the probe also said he was forced by the ministry of
external affairs officials not to follow extradition of Warren
Anderson, the CEO of Union Carbide Corporation when the gas leak took
place 26 years ago.
"CBI investigation was influenced and commanded by some officials, as
a result the justice in the Bhopal Gas leakage case got delayed,
hence, denied," said Lall, the CBI officer in charge of the
investigation from April 1994 to July 1995.
However, Moily, while reacting to Lall's claim said, "After
retirement, people can give many statement. It is an irresponsible
statement. This is not done at all. After retirement, people become
martyrs by making such statements."
Claiming that CBI was an "under command" organisation, Lall said, "We
need to make it free from government control to
ensure transparency and fair probe. In other countries, all chief
investigating agencies have been given autonomy by keeping it out of
the control of the judiciary, bureaucracy and executive powers."
The charges by Lall came hours after a local court in Bhopal yesterday
convicted former Union Carbide, India, chairman Keshub Mahindra and
seven others for the world's worst industrial disaster, that left more
than 15,000 dead on the intervening night of December 2-3 in 1984.
"I was told by the ministry of external affairs officials not to
follow the extradition of Warren Anderson, which affected the CBI
probe," Lall, who is now retired, further claimed.
After registering a case, CBI had filed its chargesheet under Section
304 IPC, which amounts to culpable homicide with maximum punishment of
10 years. However, the charges were later watered down to 304 (a),
usually used in road accidents.
"I do not know what circumstances and evidences forced CBI or others
involved in the proceedings to lower the section," he said.
However, MEA sources maintained that "in 2003, a request for
extradition of Anderson was made to the US side under India-US
bilateral extradition treaty. This request has already been reiterated
on more than one occasion."
Anderson, 89, the then chairman of Union Carbide Corporation of USA,
who lives in the United States, appeared to have gone scot-free for
the present as he is still an absconder and did not subject himself to
trial. There was no word about him in the judgement of the Bhopal
court.

Anderson flew in, out of Bhopal in state govt's plane: Capt SH Ali

New Delhi: Claims that Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson had flown in
and out of Bhopal in a state government plane was today strengthened
by the aircraft's pilot.
''We got flight information from the then Director of Aviation R S
Sodhi for a flight from Bhopal to Delhi and were told to keep the
aircraft, a state government plane, ready,'' Captain Syed Hasan Ali
claimed in an interview to a news channel.
Bhopal Gas: Centre reconstitutes GoM, MP govt to file appeal
He added that Anderson's identity was kept a secret from him. ''We did
not know who he was,'' he said.
Capt Ali further claimed that Anderson was alone in the aircraft and
looked upset and tired. ''As we waited for him, he came with the then
SP and the District Magistrate of Bhopal. When we landed in Delhi, an
ambassador picked him up from next to the plane and I left him with
the airport manager,'' he claimed.
Anderson case not closed, he slipped because of CBI: Moily
Capt Sodhi, seconding the pilot's claims, said it was on orders of
Arjun Singh government that Anderson was allowed to fly.
''I had received a call from the office of the then Chief Minister,
Arjun Singh, ordering to arrange Anderson's departure on December 7,
1984,'' Captain R S Sodhi claimed in an interview to a news channel
today.
Eight held guilty for Bhopal gas tragedy, get two years in jail
He alleged Anderson, a few hours after he came to know about his
charges with culpable homicide, reached the airport where the Chief
Minister's official plane stood waiting for him, along with senior
bureaucrats and police officers.
The city's Superintendent of Police and the district magistrate, Moti
Singh, waved to Anderson as he boarded Singh's plane, he said.
Earlier, Moti Singh had also alleged that the then Chief Secretary of
the state had called him to his room and told him to arrange for the
flight of Anderson out of Bhopal.
''The then chairman Keshub Mahindra and UCIL's then managing director
Vijay Gokhale after landing in Bhopal were taken into custody at the
airport itself but soon after that, he and the district police chief
were told by the Chief Secretary to get the US citizen released on
bail and send him to Delhi by plane,'' he said.

Bhopal gas tragedy : 'Rajiv Gandhi' helped Warren Anderson escape?

Courtesy : CNN-IBN. Warren Anderson, former chairman of the American
parent company Union Carbide Corp responsible for the 1984 Bhopal gas
tragedy, got out of India on the government’s order.

Moti Singh, who was the District Collector of Bhopal at the time of
gas leak from the Union Carbide plant, said this to CNN-IBN on
Wednesday.

He alleged Brahm Swaroop, Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh at the
time, called him and the Superintendent of Police (SP) personally and
asked him to release Anderson.

Anderson was arrested on December 7 but he was released the same day
and flew out of Bhopal in a state government plane to New Delhi, said
Singh. SeveralUnion Carbide officials were arrested on December 7 and
kept at the company guesthouse after the gas leak on December 1, which
was declared a temporary police station.

"At around 2 pm in the afternoon the Chief Secretary summoned me to
his chamber in the Secretariat. We went there -- he (Chief Secretary)
said Mr Anderson was to be released and sent to Delhi by plane which
was awaiting him at the airport. We did legal formalities and Anderson
was released on bail. He was put on the plane and he went to Delhi,”
said Singh.

The former official said he was never given reasons why Anderson was
being released. Singh claimed Anderson wanted to visited areas
affected by the gas leak but he was told there was a threat to his
life.

"He was reluctant to leave immediately. He said he wanted to see the
affected areas and meet the people. I told him he was not welcome in
Bhopal and that there was risk to his life and in no case he could be
allowed to go to the affected areas.”

The former district collector claimed Anderson seemed casual and
showed “symptoms of arrogance” but toned down when he was told that he
was being released.

Singh recalls Anderson briefed him on how the deadly methyl isocyanate
(MIC) gas "leaks, how it works” and what wind direction it will take.
Singh says Anderson’s information tallied with what was happening in
the city.

Anderson was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder,
grievous assault and killing and poisoning human beings and animals
due to leakage of the MIC gas from theUnion Carbide's pesticide plant
in Bhopal.

A Bhopal trial court on Monday convicted eight Indian officials of
Union Carbide for their criminal negligence that triggered the world's
worst industrial disaster, but Anderson was not mentioned in the
judgment.

Law Minister Veerappa Moily on Tuesday told CNN-IBN the “case” against
Anderson was not closed and blamed a former Central Bureau of
Investigation officer, who had investigated the gas leak, of not
pressing for the American’s extradition.

Date : June 9th, 2010. News by Newsofap.com





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Bhopal gas tragedy : Warren Anderson released after deleting a
'charge'





Bhopal gas tragedy : Warren Anderson released after deleting a
'charge'

Three days after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the police here had released
the then Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson and two others on bail by
"deleting" in the complaint a stringent charge under the IPC against
them, trial court sources said today.

A perusal of court documents shows that the in-charge of the Hanuman
Ganj Police Station, Surender Singh, had initially arrested Anderson,
then UCIL chairman Keshub Mahindra and senior company official Vijay
Prakash Gokhale at 10.10 AM on December 7,1984 in the presence of one
Rakesh Kumar under various sections of IPC including 304 (culpable
homicide not amounting to murder).

They were also charged with sections 304 A (causing death by
negligence), 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health), 284 (negligent
conduct with respect to poisonous substance), 426 (mischief) and 429
(mischief by killing or maiming cattle, other animals).

Later, the police released the three, "deleting" the charge against
them under Section 304, they said.

The sources said that police had no right to delete such a charge and
in doing so they had exceeded their brief.

"If the charge had not been deleted, Anderson may not have been able
to leave India," they said.

The CBI had later booked Mahindra and Gokhale under Section 304 which
provides for prison term of 10 years. However, the Supreme Court had
dropped the stringent section in the case.

Over 15,000 people were killed and thousands of others maimed when the
deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant
on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984.

Date : June 11th, 2010. News by Newsofap.com

Bhopal gas tragedy: Justice Ahmadi offers resignation

Bhopal: Former Supreme Court Chief Justice AH Ahmadi, facing flak for
the 1996 verdict in the Bhopal gas tragedy case, has offered to resign
from the post of Bhopal Memorial Hospital Trust chairman.

Speaking to a daily, the former CJI said, “I will send a fresh
application to the new Chief Justice of India asking to be relieved of
the responsibility, though my previous application was pending with
former CJI KG Balakrishnan.”

Justifying his stand, Ahmadi said that he had not committed any
impropriety by agreeing to head a multi-million dollar trust set up by
the Union Carbide after the gas leak.




Justice Ahmadi, who headed the bench in 1996 that converted the CBI
charge under the stringent provisions of 304-II that provided for
maximum of 10-year imprisonment to Section with two-year maximum
imprisonment, said it was easy for people to talk and make allegations
but judges have to work as per the system.

A two-judge bench headed by then CJI Ahmadi reduced the charge of
culpable homicide not amounting to murder to causing death by
negligence.

Giving his clarifications on the judgment, Justice Ahmadi rejected
criticism of dilution of charge against Union Carbide executives in
Bhopal gas tragedy case, saying in criminal law there was no concept
of vicarious liability.

He also lamented the lack of a law to deal with disasters of Bhopal
kind and said law can be amended to provide for adequate punishment.

Few days back, an organisation of Bhopal gas victims disputed Justice
Ahmadi's claim that no one had filed a review petition after the
Supreme Court dropped charges of culpable homicide against the accused
in the case.



Related Stories
• BJP asks Congress to come clean on Anderson issue
• `Blame judiciary for delay in Bhopal verdict`
• US to `evaluate` Indian request to bring Anderson to justice
• ‘Modi gov had allowed disposal of Bhopal`s toxic waste in Guj’

"Our organisation had filed a review petition but that was dismissed
in 1996 by the Supreme Court, which was then headed by Ahmadi
himself," the convenor of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangthan,
Abdul Jabbar had said.

As the guilty had not been charged under Section 304 of IPC (culpable
homicide not amounting to murder), they were let off with imprisonment
of only two years each, Jabbar claimed.

Justice Ahmadi, who had delivered the Bhopal gas tragedy case verdict
in on June 09 1996, said he could not recollect whether a review
petition was filed. However, he had earlier stated in a television
interview that no review petition was filed.

Since retirement, Ahmadi has been presiding over Bhopal Memorial
Hospital Trust that runs a 350-bed superspeciality hospital. The trust
was set up by Union Carbide.

A total of Rs 600 crore has gone into the trust, but its accounts are
not in the public domain. The trust deed mandates that an SC judge
should be its chairman and Ahmadi has been at its helm since
retirement.

Man Who Warned of Bhopal Gas Leak

Congress spokesman Satyvrat Chaturvedi has defended former prime
minister Rajiv Gandhi [ Images ] whose role in letting the guilty in
the Bhopal gas tragedy get off lightly is under the scanner due to the
public outcry over the recent judgment in the case -- 26 years after
the event. On the night of 2/3 December, 1984, when deadly gas leaked
from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, Arjun Singh [ Images ] was
chief minister of Madhya Pradesh [ Images ] and Gandhi was the prime
minister of India [ Images ].
In the first few years after the tragedy, tremendous pressure was put
up by the American corporate lobby and the government on India to save
the US-based Union Carbide, the parent company, from civil and
criminal liability.
As a result, at every little step, the law could not provide justice
to the over 15,000 who died due to the gas leak. More than five lakh
victims who suffered chronic diseases are struggling and pleading for
help, even now.
The June 7 judgment of a local court in Bhopal, sentencing the
convicted officials of the Indian arm of Union Carbide to a mere two-
year sentence, has made the entire nation feel small and impotent
before the might of the multinational corporations, the sluggish
Indian justice system and its spineless political establishment.
The entire Bhopal saga was witnessed from close quarters by Rajkumar
Keswani, an outstanding journalist, who had in fact foreseen this
catastrophe. His work proves that the tragedy of Bhopal started much
before December 3, 1984.
Two years before the Union Carbide factory leaked killer gas, he wrote
in a weekly magazine called Rapat (news): 'Bhopal jwalamukhi ki kagaar
par (Bhopal on the edge of a volcano)'.
Keswani has witnessed the entire saga of deception of the victims of
Bhopal by the Indian and American governments and multinational
corporations. He shares his agony in a telephonic interview with
rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
You have been following the Bhopal gas leak case for 25 years. What
was your first reaction on hearing the verdict on June 7?
I had no expectations on that day. The seed of this judgment was sown
when a Supreme Court bench headed by then Chief Justice of India, A H
Ahmadi, passed a judgment in 1996 that converted section 304 (II)
(culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian penal code
to 304-A (causing death by negligence) to try the case. In 1996 we
knew the fate of the Bhopal gas case. He diluted the charges filed
against Union Carbide. What happened was the culmination of injustice
that started with that judgment.
Was there a design behind this?
I can't say how it was done. But surely there was some design.
Eventually, after retirement, Justice Ahmadi became the lifetime
chairman of the Bhopal Memorial Hospital Trust and Research Centre
which has funds worth millions of rupees. Those millions, paid by
Union Carbide for the poor victims, are under his control even now.
The dilution of charges helped (UCC chairman) Warren Anderson and
Union Carbide in a big way, right?
When we talk about Union Carbide and Anderson, we must remember that
they have never ever been subject to Indian laws. They have never
appeared before an Indian court, nor have they lost anything due to
Bhopal or benefited by the June 7 judgment. Our country's system gave
them eternal protection from any legal proceedings. There was no
serious attempt at all to bring Anderson to this country in the last
25 years.
Can you tell us what kind of evidence you had against the US-based
Union Carbide Corporation, parent company of Union Carbide India?
I started working on this story in 1981. That was the time when my
friend Mohammad Asharaf was working in Union Carbide India Limited. He
died due to exposure to phosgene gas. I had an idea that some
hazardous chemicals are being used in the Bhopal factory. I reported
on his death and then worked for nine months on knowing about the
factory. I reported my first story in September 1982. In October that
year I ran a series and wrote weekly reports against Union Carbide and
the possibility of risk to human lives due to the chemicals in the
plant. People treated me like a crazy man. They used to tell me, 'Arre
aisa kabhi hota hai kya? Aisa kabhi hua hai kya is duniya mein?' (Do
things like this happen? Have such things happened anywhere in the
world?)
People in government, who were in the know of things, were hand in
glove with the management of Union Carbide. They would trust Union
Carbide more than anything else. Union Carbide was the only
multinational at that time in a small city like Bhopal. Their
reputation was such that it was difficult for anyone to believe that
they could be negligent. It was very disappointing for me.
But what kind of evidence did you have against UCC of the US?
In 1982, an audit team had visited Union Carbide in Bhopal. They had
inspected the plant and said that certain safety measures must be
taken, otherwise there could be a gas leak. I printed the report of
the visit of the audit team and their observations in Jansatta before
the 1984 gas leak.
At 15 places in that report, they had written that safety measures are
not proper and it could have a 'runaway' reaction. So the plant had
problems before the leak in 1984. There is enough proof. Second, UCC,
USA said they were not involved in the day to day running of the plant
so they could not be made responsible. There are telex messages as
proof which shows that the company in USA was totally involved in all
the decisions of the company in Bhopal. They were sending instructions
to Bhopal.
UCC India had a works manager named J Mukund (one of the accused who
was convicted on June 7). He had sent a message asking for advice
about coating the pipes. The US-based parent company sent him a
message saying that the best material for piping would be too
expensive and too difficult to acquire. How can UCC, USA escape their
responsibility when they were advising Bhopal to economise on safety
measures? They were telling Bhopal to use cheaper material. They were
advising it to compromise on safety. Mukund's message was sent on
August 27, 1984. Just a few weeks before the fateful leak.
Do you have the copies of those telex exchanges?
Yes.
Justice Ahmadi, when he diluted the charges against the company,
didn't see these telex messages?
He saw what he wanted to see. Actually, there was a review petition of
his order but he rejected it. We had sent messages to all the members
of Parliament at that time to press for a review of the dilution of
charges against the company. There are hundreds of documents that
suggest that the parent company was involved in the running of the
Bhopal company and they were aware of the problems in the plant. I
submitted all of it in a US court too.
In 1982, I had documents to prove that safety measures in the plant
were faulty. I managed to raise the Union Carbide plant issue in the
MP assembly. The government denied any such threat, it is on record.
The government denied my report and said there is a fool-proof system
in the factory and there is nothing to worry about. The government
said all these things in defence of Union Carbide in December 1982! I
wrote to the Chief Justice of India in 1982 to intervene in the Bhopal
factory. Nobody cared. I got no response.
Who played the bigger game in the Bhopal 'cover-up'?
Union Carbide Corporation, USA, played the game with the help of the
Government of India and the government of Madhya Pradesh. If you find
out how the settlement of 1989 was reached, you will know what I am
saying is correct. The settlement was done with the Supreme Court's
sanction. Carbide agreed to pay Rs 705 crore and the Government of
India agreed to drop all civil and criminal cases against Union
Carbide, which was later challenged in the court. Who did this? It was
Rajiv Gandhi who made this settlement possible. It was the ultimate
shame that the Government of India accepted money for the victims to
quash criminal proceedings against UCC.
I challenged it in the court with the help of Indira Jaising, my
lawyer. Only after that petition was the criminal case revived in June
1989. Anyone can understand what the role of the Government of India
has been in helping victims.
It's very intriguing to see that after the Bhopal tragedy innumerable
NGOs, from stalwarts like Indira Jaising to hundreds of local
community leaders, fought for the victims but nothing came out of it.
Why such a total failure?
This is a very serious question. I am also worried about it. I don't
know if I should say anything on it.
But so much has been done by the foot soldiers of civil society. All
over the world the victims have sympathisers. Still justice was not
done. Why?
These are voices only. In society today only a loud bang is heard.
That can be done by the television media. If the people would have
reacted in a similar manner in 1996 to Justice Ahmadi's decision, the
Bhopal verdict would have been different.
How do you look at the Bhopal judgment?
I think the judge in his wisdom has not spoken much on (UC India
chairman) Keshub Mahindra's role. We have a grouse against it. It
should be challenged. The Indian managers were equally responsible.
In Bhopal, during these 26 years, has Keshub Mahindra ever said sorry?
No. Rather, they have been manipulating the case. I have evidence to
say so.
Who are the guilty men of Bhopal?
There is Union Carbide Company who compromised safety for profit.
There was the Indian government who could not withstand the might of
the multinationals. The cause of the tragedy was Union Carbide, but
the injustice was due to the slow process of the judiciary and the
Central Bureau of Investigation. The investigating agency became a
partner in crime.
Who helped Anderson? Who executed the operation to get him out of
India on December 7, 1984?
The American government and the US embassy put pressure on the Indian
government. They put pressure on the Prime Minister's Office. Rajiv
Gandhi, reportedly, asked Arun Singh to ensure Anderson's release.
Chief Minister Arjun Singh didn't convey to New Delhi [ Images ] the
popular sentiments on the ground in Bhopal.
We reported these things then. We have no recordings of it now but we
reported though our sources.
You are fighting since 26 years but now you see all around that people
are reacting sensitively. There is a feeling of anguish and
frustration. How do you see the new-found interest in the Bhopal case?
This is due to the new media and the images on television. Yeh TV ka
kamal hai. These days, we are dictated by images on TV. They make us
cry and they make us laugh. It is good, and even bad sometimes. In the
case of Bhopal tragedy it is good that TV is shaking our memories.

Police released Anderson after 'deleting' stringent charge

Three days after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the police here had released
the then Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson and two others on bail by
"deleting" in the complaint a stringent charge under the IPC against
them, trial court sources said today.

A perusal of court documents shows that the in-charge of the Hanuman
Ganj Police Station, Surender Singh, had initially arrested Anderson,
then UCIL chairman Keshub Mahindra and senior company official Vijay
Prakash Gokhale at 10.10 AM on December 7,1984 in the presence of one
Rakesh Kumar under various sections of IPC including 304 (culpable
homicide not amounting to murder).

They were also charged with sections 304 A (causing death by
negligence), 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health), 284 (negligent
conduct with respect to poisonous substance), 426 (mischief) and 429
(mischief by killing or maiming cattle, other animals).

Later, the police released the three, "deleting" the charge against
them under Section 304, they said.

The sources said that police had no right to delete such a charge and
in doing so they had exceeded their brief.

"If the charge had not been deleted, Anderson may not have been able
to leave India," they said.

The CBI had later booked Mahindra and Gokhale under Section 304 which
provides for prison term of 10 years. However, the Supreme Court had
dropped the stringent section in the case.

Over 15,000 people were killed and thousands of others maimed when the
deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant
on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984.

MP CM seeks explanation from Arjun Singh on how Anderson fled

New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on
Friday said that his government will go to any extent to get justice
for Bhopal gas victims and demanded an explanation from then Chief
Minister Arjun Singh on how former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson
fled the country.

"We will go to any extent to get justice for the victims...This is not
an issue of Bhopal or the state. It should act as an example of how to
give punishment in such cases," he told reporters here.

Noting that the people of the state felt "let down" following the gas
tragedy verdict, Chouhan said he has written to Arjun Singh and asked
for a reply on the circumstances that led to Anderson's escape.

"Let Arjun Singh explain it. Whether he did it (gave permission for
providing state aircraft) himself or anybody told him to do so. We
want a reply from him if a wrong direction was given. And after all,
why such a direction was given.

"There are lot many questions like why the CBI filed no appeal when
the charges in the case were diluted in 1997. If he gives a statement,
things would be clear. The state and the country want to know these
circumstances," he said.

Chouhan said a five-member team of legal experts has been set up by
the state government to look into the issue and examine what could be
done legally to get Bhopal gas victims justice. The interim report of
the team would be out in the next ten days, he said.

Asked about the conflicting statements of Congress leaders like
Digvijay Singh and Satyavrat Chaturvedi on Anderson fleeing the
country, Chouhan said he did not want to politicise the issue but
added that this was only leading to confusion.

"Somebody is saying the Centre is responsible while somebody else says
the issues comes under the state. Different people are speaking in
different voices...One wants to protect somebody while the other wants
to trap someone else.

"This is leading to confusion... Arjun Singh should speak the truth.
What other Congress leaders are speaking is only bringing out the
contradictions within the Congress party," he said.

He said that his government is open to all options and will decide
after the committee report on whether to constitute a probe commission
go into the lapses or take up the issue with US courts.

CBI failed to act on warrant against Anderson last year

Bhopal: The trial court in the Bhopal gas tragedy case had issued an
arrest warrant against former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson last
year but the CBI had failed to give any written response to it,
according to court sources.

They said the warrant, the second against Anderson, was issued by
Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan P Tiwari on July 2, 2009 but the CBI
did not give any written response to it.

Anderson was the chairman of the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) at
the time of the disaster in December 1984 which left over 15,000
people dead.

Instead, they said, a CBI official met Tiwari and orally conveyed to
him that for the agency, Anderson's case had been closed.

The first court warrant against Anderson was issued in 1992.

Direction to release Anderson must have come from CM: Ex HS

New Delhi: Former Madhya Pradesh Home Secretary K S Sharma on Friday
said that the then Chief Minister Arjun Singh may have given
directions to officials to release former Union Carbide chief Warren
Anderson.

Sharma, who was the Home Secretary when the Bhopal gas tragedy took
place, said the pressure to release Anderson must have come from the
Chief Minister as "no officer would take such a step without direct
instructions from the government".

"Right from the beginning there had been some soft approach towards
the whole thing otherwise he (Anderson) would have not been kept in a
guest house when he was in custody. Releasing an accused of such a
heinous crime on the same day means there was a tremendous pressure,"
he said.

"...It is difficult to say from where this pressure came but certainly
the pressure from Chief Minister on officials must have been there
because no officer would take such a step without direct instructions
from government."

Sharma claimed despite being the Home Secretary he was not kept in the
loop and "not informed about Anderson's release."

To a question whether there was pressure on Arjun Singh, he said:
"This is not known to me whether there was some pressure on Arjun
Singh or not...I did not discuss with Chief Minister Arjun Singh. I
really do not know.

"But he certainly gave (some) instructions because the Collector had
said the Chief Secretary told him. The Chief Secretary should not have
told him. The Chief Secretary should not have passed on these
instructions without very strong instructions from the Chief
Minister," he said.

He also questioned the Government's decision to keep Anderson in a
guest house after his arrest and termed the grant of bail to him as
illegal.

"It is certainly unusual. Although in a few cases it does happen but
it is when the offence is not heinous and the person is respectable.
But so far as this case is concerned, 15,000 persons have died and
keeping accused in rest house was certainly, I would say, very
unfortunate and shouldn't have been done," Sharma said.

"When the case, which was registered under Section 304 which is a non-
bailable cognisable offence in which the bail can only be granted by
Sessions court after the discussions and arguments by both sides.
Therefore the grant of bail in my view was illegal," the former
bureaucrat said.

"In a high profile case, in which so many persons died and somebody
who had come from the US has been arrested and if he has been released
same day on bail, not informing me or not keeping me in the loop, not
consulting me was certainly not normal. In such cases the Home
Secretary is always consulted."

Sharma said the then Bhopal Superintendent of Police had informed him
about Anderson's arrest and he was not aware that he was released on
bail.

"Whether there was pressure or not, I am not aware because till his
release I was not in the loop. I was not consulted at all. So I have
absolutely no information whether there was pressure to release,"
Sharma said.

Congress denies Rajiv had a role in Anderson escape

New Delhi: The Congress party on Friday strongly rejected a former
prime ministerial aide P.C. Alexander's indication that the then prime
minister Rajiv Gandhi had helped Warren Anderson, the CEO of Union
Carbide Corp in 1984, escape from the country within days of Bhopal
gas tragedy.

Alexander reportedly stated that Gandhi and then Madhya Pradesh chief
minister Arjun Singh were directly in touch with each other over the
escape of Anderson from the country barely days after the world's
biggest industrial disaster in Bhopal Dec 2-3, 1984.

Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said there "is nothing
unusual" in a prime minister and a chief minister being in constant
touch with each other.

She said the Group of Ministers for Bhopal gas tragedy would "gather
all information and put it before the people".

The GoM is headed by Home Minister P. Chidambaram and includes Law and
Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad,
Minister for Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath, Minister for
Chemicals and Fertilisers M.K. Alagiri, Minister for Urban Development
Jaipal Reddy, Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and
Minister of Housing and Tourism Kumari Selja.



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