Uphaar fire:Ansal brothers gets 7 years jail for evidence tampering

A Delhi court on Monday sentenced real estate barons Gopal and Sushil Ansal for tampering with evidence related to the 1997 Uphaar Cinema fire that left 59 people dead. The accused were convicted for the offence of tampering with the evidence on October 8. The court had called for income and asset records to consider the quantum of fine that will be imposed on them.The court also awarded 7-year-jail term each to former court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and two others -- P P Batra and Anoop Singh-- and a fine of Rs 3 lakh each. All expenses of the complainant, Uphaar Victims Association, in course of the long trial will be borne by the Ansals. After that the compensation will be paid to those who lost family members in the tragedy.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma also fined them Rs 2.25 crore each while directing that they be taken into custody. The court also held two of their employees, PP Batra and Anoop Singh, and former court staffer Dinesh Chand Sharma guilty. The Ansal brothers along with Dinesh Sharma, Batra, Har Swaroop Panwar, Singh, and Dharamvir Malhotra were booked in the tempering case. Panwar and Malhotra died during the course of the trial.In the main fire case, the Ansals were convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by the Supreme Court in 2015.