A verdict that shattered the hopes of a nation
On December 3, 1984 thousands of unsuspecting residents of the city of Bhopal retired for the night never realising that they would not live to see another day.
A toxic gas leak from the Union Carbide's pesticide plant killed as many as 3,500 people instantly and thousands later.
India's justice system took 25 years to deliver a verdict on the company executives blamed for the disaster. However, the whole nation was shocked by the meagre verdict imposed on the accused, in what is considered the worst industrial disasters of the world.
On Monday, seven managers from the local subsidiary of US chemical group Union Carbide were sentenced to two years in prison for criminal negligence. They were released on bail almost immediately.
Image: A worker cleans the dust off a panel of photographs of the people who died in the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster at the forensic department of Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal on Tuesday
Text: IANS
Images: PTI
