Uphaar Cinema fire: Five things you must know

Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday fined Rs 60 crores in the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire case. The apex court also allowed industrialists Sushil and Gopal Ansal, owners of the cinema hall, to walk free on depositing fine of Rs 30 crore each in three months.

Here are the few facts related to it:

- The Uphaar cinema fire occurred on Friday, 13 June 1997 in Green Park, Delhi, during the 3pm to to 6 pm screening of the movie Border.

- 59 people died who got trapped inside were killed in the fire mostly due to suffocation. More than 100 were seriously injured. According to reports, flames from an electrical transformer which was housed in the theatre’s basement car park engulfed some 20 cars. It was said that some 36 cars were parked instead of the admissible 18. The fire then spread to the five-storey building which housed the cinema hall. 

- Union Home ministry transferred the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation which on November 15, 1997, filed chargesheet against 16 accused, including theatre owners Sushil and Gopal Ansal, for causing death by negligence and endangering life among other things.

- The victims and the families of the deceased later formed 'The Association of Victims of Uphaar Fire Tragedy' (AVUT). It filed the civil compensation case and won Rs 25 crore in compensation by the Delhi High Court.

- On August 19, 2015, the Supreme Court fined Rs 60 crores to the Ansal brothers. The apex court also allowed industrialists Sushil and Gopal Ansal to walk free on depositing fine of Rs 30 crore each in three months.

(Courtsey - Wikipedia)

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