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The Magistrate Court in Bhopal on Monday granted bail to the seven Indian Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) officials convicted in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and released them on submission of a surety of Rs 25,000. Earlier this morning, Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Mohan P Tiwari convicted all eight accused on the grounds of death due to negligence under Section 304 (a) for one of India''s most horrific industrial disasters. The eight accused are Keshub Mahendra, Vijay Gokhle, Kishore Kamdar, J Mukund, S P Choudhary, K V Shetty and S I Qureshi and R B Roy Choudhary. Out of the accused R B Roy Choudhary, then former Assistant Works Manager Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL), Mumbai, died during the trial. The FIR in the tragedy was filed on December 3, 1984 and the case was transferred to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on December 6, 1984. The CBI filed the charge sheet after investigation on December 1, 1987. 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.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Seven accused get bail