Verdict on Bhopal gas tragedy today

Bhopal, June 7 (ANI): The judgement on Bhopal Gas tragedy, one of the most horrific industrial disaster which killed thousands of people, would be pronounced on Monday.

Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Mohan P Tiwari will pronounce the judgement.

During the trial, a total of 178 prosecution witnesses were examined and 3008 documents were produced while eight defence witnesses deposed in the court.

Out of the nine accused tried for the offences, R B Roy Choudhary, then former Assistant Works Manager Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL), Mumbai, died during the trial.

The remaining eight accused are Keshub Mahendra, Vijay Gokhle, Kishore Kamdar, J Mukund, S P Choudhary, K V Shetty and S I Quershi.

In the early hours of December 3, 1984, around 40 metric tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked into the atmosphere and was carried by wind to surrounding slums.

The government says around 3,500 died in the disaster. Rights activists, however, claim that 25,000 people have died so far. (ANI)