‘Serving a living death sentence’: Ahead of series, couple recall 26-year battle after Uphaar fire

Twenty-six years on, the tragedy that claimed 59 lives and injured over a hundred has found its way to screens around the world. “The release date happens to be Friday the 13th,” Neelam says, gripping a cup of tea with both hands at the couple’s Noida home on a chilly January evening. “The day the fire broke out also happened to be Friday the 13th.”

Based on their 2016 book Trial By Fire, the Netflix series, the couple hope, will illustrate the truth of the tragedy to generations who have only read or heard of it. In addition to underlining the need for persistence and patience to anyone engaged in litigation in the country and highlighting the lacunae in India’s legal system, the most significant objective, say the Krishnamoorthys, is to inspire the average Indian litigant to never give up.

“We are not saying that we have done something exceptional. But, that being said, it takes patience and perseverance — something that lawyers are trained for but we were not, just like any average citizen who goes to court is not. We have seen people give up — but we decided not to,” says Shekhar.

“We hope our story will inspire others to be, and to remain, resilient in the face of what is unfortunately an accused-friendly judicial system. Initially, it was difficult to even get the affected families together. Now, 26 years later, despite being let down so many times, what happened to us laid the foundation for judicial activism in the country and all the 26 affected families are together till this day,” says Shekhar.

On July 19 last year, brothers Sushil and Gopal Ansal walked out of jail. While noting that nothing could compensate the victims’ families for their loss, the court had, however, stated that the order was based on a consideration for the brothers’ age.

To this, Neelam says: “It is as if it is an incentive for old people to commit a crime. The eldest of the brothers committed the crime of not having proper arrangements in place at Uphaar when he was in his 50s, then evidence tampering in his 60s. Do the judiciary consider the age of the victims? Do they remember that the youngest victim was a month old child? That there were more than 23 children among the victims?”

Recalling the fateful day, Shekhar says: “I was supposed to go with them. But Unnati thought we wouldn’t be able to make it in time and promised me she would watch the same film with me again.” The Krishnamoorthys have not watched a single movie since that day.

Despite suggestions from family and friends over the years to turn over a new leaf and start a family again, the Krishnamoorthys, who were in their mid-30s at the time, said they chose not to. “Whenever someone would suggest we try to start a new family, my response was the same: my children were not toys that can be replaced. Moreover, had we had another child, we don’t think we would have been able to let them even step out of the house after what happened to us. And that would have been unfair to them,” says Shekhar.

“That day, when we came back home, I asked Neelam what do you want to do? She said I want to fight, and that is what we have been doing and will keep doing,” he adds.