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March 04, 2006
Gas Tragedy: No info on antidote, says accused
Bhopal | March 03, 2006 7:38:44 PM IST:
The toxic nature of the gas being produced at Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) prior to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, was made known to the Centre and state governments but no information was made available regarding any antidote.
This detail was furnished today by then UCIL MD Vijay Gokhale, an accused, while deposing before Chief Judicial Magistrate A K Gupta's court, which is hearing the criminal case pertaining to the world's worst industrial disaster.
Today was the third consecutive day of hearings and the next dates were fixed as April 17, 18 and 19.
All eight prime accused, including the then UCIL chairman Keshub Mahindra, have had their statements recorded.
On the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, thousands died after inhaling methyl isocyanate while several lakh persons continue to suffer the deleterious effect of inhaling the deadly vapours.
Posted by bhola at 07:19 AM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2006
Gas tragedy, Indian accused are deposed
Bhopal.net comments in italics
For the second consecutive day, the Bhopal Chief Judicial Magistrate's court recorded statements of those accused in the criminal case -- under section 301 of the CrPC -- pertaining to the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy caused by leakage of methyl isocyanate from the now-closed Union Carbide factory.
The unit's then shift supervisor Shakeel Qureshi deposed before CJM A K Gupta in the pre-lunch session.
Former works manager J Mukund yesterday denied any difference in the structure of the company's plants in the US and here. Mr Mukund responded to prosecution by saying minor leakages did not occur at the factory earlier.
Bhopal.net comment: Mukund's statements are false. Carbide's own memos show that the Bhopal plant used "unproven technology" which was predicted to cause problems. There were major safety differences between the UCC plant in Institute, West Virginia and the plant in Bhopal. Leakages of gas were common – see comment on previous story – and local residents had grown used to the boiled cabbage smell from the plant, not knowing it was methyl isocyanate, until the night when 27 tons of it leaked and killed thousands of them.
"Methyl isocyanate is a toxic, inflammable and reactive gas that should not be stored in iron, steel, aluminium, tin, concrete or metal containers," he admitted.
Mr Mukund denied that, just a couple of months preceding the disaster, there were discussions that the unit was being shifted.
In fact, UCC was planning to dismantle it and shift it either to Indonesia or Brazil.
Replying to a question, Mr Mukund said employee Mohammad Ashraf -- whose death preceded the tragedy -- was not killed by a gas leak but due to his own fault while at work.
Ashraf was killed by phosgene, which was spilled accidentally. He was not wearing proper protective clothing. Safety standards and practices at the plant were however so appalling that the workers tried to warn local people through a poster campaign.
Earlier, ex-production supervisor K V Shetti's statement was recorded. Based on 178 CBI prosecution witnesses' statements more than 600 queries have been drafted.
For the first time in the history of the trial, which has been argued since 1987, a February 6 hearing witnessed the then Union Carbide India Ltd chairman Keshav Mahindra and seven other accused appearing before the bench together.
They were Mr Qureshi, Mr Mukund, Mr Shetty, the then MD Vijay Gokhale, vice-president Kishore Kamdar, production manager S P Chaudhry and A K Srivastava.
Hearings will continue until tomorrow and Mr Mahindra and Mr Gokhale may be recalled to the witness stand.
Posted by bhola at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)
Bhopal court hears evidence of Indian accused
Adapted with comments (in italics), from NewKerala.com
BHOPAL, MARCH 2, 2006
Chief Judicial Magistrate Anil Gupta, sitting in Bhopal today recorded statements from Shakeel I Qureshi, then production assistant of Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) and a local company representative A K Shrivastava, in the ongoing criminal case related to the Union Carbide 1984 gas tragedy.
The Criminal Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had brought charges against 12 defendants on the basis of statements of 178 witnesses.
The seven Indian defendants, including well known industrialist Keshub Mahindra, Chairman of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) at the time of the gas leak, face charges of criminal negligence. Of the foreign accused, Union Carbide Corporation (US) and its ex-Chairman Warren Anderson are charged with culpable homicide.
The court had yesterday recorded statements of the then UCIL works manager J Mukund and plant superintendent K V Shetty.
Mukund had earlier told the court that leakage of gas had never taken place in the UCIL factory here before the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, but its workers had been trained to take necessary precautions in the event of any leak.
Bhopal.net comment: There are had been so many leaks, including a fatal leak of phosgene, that the warning siren had been turned off because it was sounding so often it was considered a nuisance. Worried factory workers had plastered posters in surrounding communities warning them of the danger. In a major cost cutting exercise before the leak, safety staff numbers were halved and training time cut from six months to two weeks. Safety auditors visiting from Carbide US in 1982 found dozens of safety problems and warned of the potential for a major toxic release. Measures were taken to improve safety in Carbide's West Virginia plant, but in Bhopal nothing was done.
Apart from Qureshi, Shetty and Mukund, Indians accused in the case include former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra, Managing Director Vijay Gokhale, production manager S P Choudhury and vice-president Kishore Kamdar.
Charges were also levelled against Union Carbide Corporation, its Asian subsidiary Union Carbide (Eastern) and former UCC chairman Warren Anderson.
UCC, UC Eastern (now defunct) and Warren Anderson have been refusing to obey the court's summons since 1992 and have been proclaimed "criminal absconders from justice".
Posted by bhola at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)