Delhi: No trauma centre for Uphaar Cinema fire later victims, ₹60cr fine missing

Hindustan Times

21 hours ago

Twenty-eight years after the Uphaar cinema fire claimed 59 lives and wounded over 100 others, the trauma centre promised in memory of the victims remains missing. Victims' families said the absence of the facility — despite ₹60 crore collected from Gopal Ansal and Sushil Ansal, cinema owners who were convicted in the case, nearly a decade ago — on the Supreme Court's orders underscores the indifference to justice and public safety.
The trauma centre was to be built in west Delhi's Dwarka within two years of a 2015 SC directive, using fines paid by the Ansal brothers. The plan was clear: the Delhi government was to allocate at least five acres of land and construct a state-of-the-art trauma centre in one of the city's most accident-prone areas. Yet today, no foundation stone has been laid, and the ₹60 crore — now estimated to have grown to over ₹100 crore with interest — remains unaccounted for.
'For decades, we have fought a legal battle for only two things: one, to get justice for our children, and another, that the tragedy can help bring some change,' said Neelam Krishnamoorthy, whose children -- Unnati, 17, and Ujjwal, 13 -- were among the 59 who were killed in the fire in the south Delhi hall where Sunny Deol starrer Border was being screened. She leads the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT). 'We're not asking for favours. All we want is that the fine deposited by the Ansals be used to make the trauma centre, which will be very beneficial for the residents of Delhi and, in times of any incidents like this, can help save lives,' she said.
'AVUT members now fear that we are getting old, we do not know whether we will be here tomorrow or not, and so no one will be there to question the government. Hence, we are raising the issue and want the government to act on it,' she said.
In a landmark judgment in August 2015, the Supreme Court, instead of sending the Ansals back to prison, ordered them to pay ₹30 crore each. The court directed the Delhi government to use this money to build a trauma facility in memory of the victims. The order called for a 'Victims of Uphaar Memorial Trauma Centre' with a dedicated burns ward and accident services.
The money was deposited with the Delhi government in November 2015. Yet nearly 10 years later, the families say they have been met with silence and bureaucratic apathy.
In multiple RTI queries filed in 2019 and again in 2024, departments including the Chief Secretary's office, the health ministry, the law department, and the Directorate General of Health Services responded saying that the information 'is not available' or 'does not pertain' to them.
'The state has neither allotted land nor offered any explanation,' said Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, another AVUT member who lost both children in the fire. 'We are left wondering whether anyone will be held accountable, or if time and delay will again erase the promise of justice.'
AVUT has now approached the Supreme Court again, urging it to push for the implementation of its 2015 order. On April 22 this year, the court issued notice to the Delhi government, seeking a response. The next hearing is scheduled for July 16.
HT reached out to an official in the chief minister's office for a response, but the official did not respond till the time of going to print.
For the families, the centre is not merely symbolic. 'This is not just about memory,' Neelam said. 'This is about public health. This is about preventing the next Uphaar.'