Uphaar tragedy report made public

NEW DELHI: A sessions court on Saturday supplied the parties interested in the report on the inspection of Uphaar Cinema complex in which 59 persons lost their lives on June 13, 1997 when a fire broke out during the screening of the Hindi blockbuster 'Border'.

Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal handed the copies of the report of inspection conducted on August 19, 2006 to the CBI, the Association of Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) and the accused side.

The report comprehensively covers the sightings made by the court inside the complex and the general layout of the three-storeyed building, the basement and the transformer room during the court's visit to the site which had been preserved as material evidence for the past nine years since the date of occurrence of the tragedy.

The inspection was conducted as per the orders of the Delhi High Court on September 12, 2003 to study the evidence.

On the second floor balcony of the theatre, where victims were asphyxiated to death by the smoke from the blaze, the court observed that the space provided for exhaust fans on the walls was found blocked with the help of a cardboard.

Further, the report highlighted that the bolt of the exit door was found half-detached, which according to the AVUT members, contradicts the accused persons' repeated contention during trial that there was no bolt on the door.

The report pointed out that there was no way of passage on the extreme right hand-side of the balcony as all the seats on the side joined the wall.