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Court orders seizure of Carbide's Indian assets
BHOPAL. Apr 30 : A court on Thursday ordered the seizure of. ail Indian assets of Union Carbide Corp., which Is charged with homicide tn the 1984 gas leak that killed more than 4.000 people, reports AP
Bhopal's Chief Judicial Magistrate Gulab Sharma accepted a government plea to acquire 'all movable and Immovable properly' and shares owned by Union Carbide in India.
The Danbury. Conn based multinational owns 50.9 per
cent shares in its Indian sub sldiary Union Carbide India Ltd.
In an 11-page verdict. Sharma asked Indian federal police. Central Bureau of Investigation, to inform UCC about the decision to prevent it from transferring UC1L shares from India
UCC had said earlier this month It plans to sell the shares to raise up to dlrs 17 million for a hospital In Bhopal for the gas victims. Critics said it was a ploy to prevent the
government from taking over the assets
"It appears UCC somehow wants to transfer its 50.9 per cent shares tn UCIL tn avoid criminal proceedings. Therefore, there Is no alternative except to attach assets of UCC in India and compel UCC to appear in court." Sharma said.
Carbide has the option to appeal against the verdict in a higher court, but It appears unlikely after having so tar refused to attend court proceed-
ings to contest the criming! charges. Carbide claim* it Is not answerable to .Indian courts because it Is a US company
Sharma also asked the central Bureau of Investigation to find out details of UCC s assets In India. He directed Indias central bank to prevent any bid by UCC to transfer the share*.
Last month. Sharma issued an arrest warrant for Carbide's former chief executive. Warren Anderson, charging him with "culpable homicide not
amounting to murder." Anderson has not responded to the courts order to the charge, which is equivalent to manslaughter
Anderson was the Carbide chairman when methyl Iso cyanate gas leaked from UCIL's pesticide plant In Bhopal on December 3, 1984 More than 4.000 people have died of ex posure to the gas About 20.000 people were injured
Most of the victim* were poor labourer* living In shanties around the fac tory
Thursday's verdict "Is a victory of gas victims It is an eye opener for multinational com panics who want to take third world countries for granted." said Jai Prakash Dewan of the Citizens Relief and Rehabl Htat Ion Committee a voluntary group
The government had Initially sued Union Carbide for dlrs 3 billlor. In damages, but in a February 1989 settlement agreed to accept dlrs 470 million as compensation.