Bhopal, July 31 (IANS) A court here Friday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to arrest former Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson and produce him without delay, prompting survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy to celebrate on the streets.
The chief judicial magistrate has asked the CBI to explain what steps it has taken to enforce the warrant and extradition order in Anderson’s name.

Anderson was chairman of the company when, on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984, tonnes of lethal methyl isocyanate gas spewed out of Union Carbide’s pesticide plant here, killing thousands of people instantly and maiming thousands of others.

Union Carbide Corporation — which was subsequently acquired by the Dow Chemical Company — and Anderson were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, grievous assault and other serious crimes in relation to the gas disaster. Anderson was proclaimed an absconder in 1992 after he refused to appear in court despite several summons.

A copy of Friday’s court order was also sent to the Ministry of External Affairs.

The news was received with jubilation by survivors of the tragedy who gathered in the court premises within an hour of the order being received. Some of them danced on the streets.

“The CBI was hoping to indefinitely delay this case. This is a very welcome and much anticipated move that the chief judicial magistrate has independently ordered renewed action on this front,” said Rashida Bee, a survivor and leading member of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh.

“Punishing the guilty and having them face the law is extremely important for survivors to attain closure to the horrors of the disaster. More importantly, this will send a strong signal that corporations and corporate bosses cannot play with our lives,” she said.

In 2002, Bhopal supporters traced Anderson to the elite New York neighbourhood of The Hamptons, where he was found living a life of luxury. Survivors’ groups in Bhopal said they will now move for renewed action to enforce the appearance of the company’s authorised representatives.

In a related matter, an application to summon the Dow Chemical Company is pending before the high court.