Cell sought to punish Bhopal disaster guilty

BHOPAL - Survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy Saturday demanded a special cell to punish the foreigners responsible for the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster that killed thousands.

Leaders of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) and Children Against Dow Carbide said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh needed to act on this issue.

They said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had failed to prosecute those guilty of what was the world’s worst industrial disaster then.

“The prime minister must facilitate the creation of a Special Prosecution Cell for effective and timely action on extradition of foreign accused and prosecution of Dow Chemical,” a spokesman for the groups said.

Dow Chemical is the successor to Union Carbide, from whose pesticide plant here tonnes of lethal gas leaked on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984, killing thousands instantly and many over the years.

“Justice will be done in Bhopal only if the individuals and corporations responsible for the deaths of over 25,000 people and toxic exposure and damage to over half a million are punished in an exemplary manner,” said Rashida Bee, who heads the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh.

The groups faulted New Delhi for failing to net the principal accused including Union Carbide former chairman Warren Anderson. “Justice cannot be done in Bhopal till the principal accused are brought to trial.”