The international human rights group Amnesty International today said the court's verdict on the Bhopal gas tragedy is "too little, too late".
"These are historic convictions, but it is too little, too late. Twenty-five years is an unacceptable length of time for the survivors of the disaster and the families of the dead to have waited for a criminal trial to reach a conclusion," Amnesty Director (Global Issues) Audrey Gaughran said in a statement here today.
Twenty-five years after the worst industrial disaster in world history which claimed over 15,000 lives, a Bhopal court today convicted eight people including former Union Carbide India chairman Keshub Mahindra in the Bhopal Gas tragedy case.
The group also urged the Indian and US governments to take the next step by bringing the US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) to justice. According to the statement, UCC and its former chairman Warren Anderson, who is absconding since the tragedy were charged in 1987 but both refused to face trial.
"While the Indian employees have now been tried and convicted, the foreign accused have been able to evade justice simply by remaining abroad. This is totally unacceptable," Gaughran said.
