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Uphaar cinema blaze: Four years later

Life has never been the same for those who lost near and dear ones in a devastating fire at Uphaar cinema, in which 59 people lost their lives, on June 13, 1997.

Members of the Uphaar Fire Victims' Association gather for an hour, at every anniversary, to pray for peace for the departed souls, and then return home to relive memories of that night, when they were told to rush to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to look for relatives.

"On this day, if someone were to tell me to come to the medical institute for an appointment, I would avoid it. Going to the hospital on June 13 is simply unbearable. My heart virtually collapsed when I saw bodies of my wife Malika (36), my daughters Medini and Tarini and my son Dhruv. My maid servant also perished in the fire," Jagdeep Mann, who runs an engineering outfit in Faridabad, told rediff.com.

"My sorrow and grief are my own. And I have to live with it. But some hidden energy tells me to carry on with life and channelise my resources to ensure that those responsible for the tragedy are brought to book. I have attended every single hearing in various courts," he said.

Shekhar and Neelam Krishnamurthy have been at the forefront of those seeking justice.

"We have no motive to live. Who do we earn for? What do we have in life to look forward to? We are back to square one when we married 24 years back. But then there was life ahead of us. Now, we sit and stare at each other. Our beloved children were killed by those who wanted to make more money," said the couple.

A day before the tragedy, the Krishnamurthys were planning what their daughter Unnati would do if she had scored over 80 per cent in the standard XII exams.

"She wanted to be a company secretary. We had submitted her admission forms to some south Delhi colleges on June 12, and on the morning of June 13, my office boy left for the north Delhi campus to submit her forms. But, alas, things were willed otherwise," Shekhar told rediff.com.

Neelam had offered to go with the children to the movie, but the daughter thought that she was just promising something that would not materialise. "Mummy, you keep saying this, but do you have the time?" she had said to her mother.

It was not the first time that Unnati and Ujjwal Krishnamurthy had gone for a movie together. But this time, when they did not return after the show time was over, the parents got worried. On hearing that a fire had engulfed Uphaar, they rushed to the cinema hall. From there, they went to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, to see the bodies of their children.

"I have lived 1464 days without my children. Every day is no different. We have not moved beyond June 13, 1997. We are living since we promised our children that we would get them justice. Our business has reduced to 25 per cent," Neelam stated.

August was special for the Krishnamurthys because their little darlings were born that month. But, fate was cruel to them in more than one way. The two children were born at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and it was there that they breathed their last.

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