Union Carbide Bhopal Execs Sentenced to Prison in India

GlobeTracker| An Indian court today found the Indian unit of Union Carbide guilty of negligence in what is known as the Bhopal disaster, in which 3,500 people died from breathing the air, according to the Indian government. 

Activists set the number higher, saying 25,000 died in the immediate aftermath and the years that followed. Activists are also very unhappy with the verdict.

Seven Indian former employees, including Keshub Mahindra who was chairman of Union Carbine India Ltd at the time of the incident, were sentenced to two years in prison and fined 100,000 rupees (1,447 pounds) in a judgement for which activists have campaigned for a quarter of a century.  The court also fined the Union Carbide business unit 500,000 rupees. 

Hundreds of protesters, many waving placards saying “hang the guilty” and “they are traitors of the nation,” tried to force their way inside the court complex but were stopped by police.

“Let us in. They may have been punished, but what about us? There are so many of us who have not received any compensation,” said Shanta Bai, a gas victim. via Reuters