New Delhi:  On Monday, November 8, a Delhi court awarded seven-year jail terms to real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal for tampering with evidence in the 1997 case of the Uphaar cinema fire which had claimed 59 lives.

Chief metropolitan magistrate Pankaj Sharma also imposed a fine of Rs 2.25 crore each on the Ansals.

The court also awarded a seven-year jail term each to former court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and two others; P. P. Batra and Anoop Singh, along with a fine of Rs 3 lakh each.

"After thinking over nights and nights, I have come to the conclusion that they deserve punishment," the judge said.

Also Read: Uphaar: Convicts Allowed to Pay "For Their Freedom" as Pain Lingers For Families of Fire Victims

The convicts, out on bail, were taken into the custody after the order was pronounced.

The case is related to tampering with the evidence in the main fire tragedy case in which the Ansals were convicted and sentenced to 2-year jail terms by the Supreme Court.

The apex court, however, released them, taking into account the prison time they had done on the condition that they pay a Rs 30 crore fine each, to be used for building a trauma centre in the national capital.

The fire had broken out and claimed 59 lives at the Uphaar cinema during the screening of the Hindi film Border on June 13, 1997.

(PTI)

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