Bhopal’s most-hated lived and died a free man
For those who lost their loved ones to the gas leak at the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal in 1984 and for the thousands who continue to suffer the after-effects of what is now considered to be one of the world's worst industrial disasters, the death of the chemical company's chief brings no sense of closure. If anything, it leaves us all with an acute, even infuriating, sense of injustice. Held responsible for the death of 3,700 people, although unofficial estimates put the figure much higher at 25,000, and the consequent poisoning of half a million more, Warren M Anderson never saw the inside of a prison cell. Instead, he lived a full life, and on September 29, died quietly and peacefully at the ripe old age of 92 in his Florida home — taking with him to the grave the untold story of how he escaped the long arm of the law in this country. Four days after the disaster, which happened in the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984, Anderson had come to India to see for himself the site of the calamity. He was arrested immediately upon his arrival in Bhopal, but instead of being taken to the police station, was lodged at the company's plush guest house. Within three hours, he was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs25,000, and another three hours later, whisked back to New Delhi on a state air plane, reportedly to a hail of salutes from Government officials who were falling over themselves to carry the American's hand luggage. From New Delhi, he flew back home, never to return to India. In the three decades since then, there were repeated efforts to prosecute him here, but to no avail. Washington, DC, rejected New Delhi's first extradition request in 1992; the second one, moved in 2011, was pending at the time of his death. No one realistically expected that Warren Anderson would ever face an Indian court, but it was the manner in which Indian leaders at the highest levels then colluded with him, that was the unkindest cut of all.
It is widely believed that Anderson's escape was facilitated by the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Arjun Singh, acting on the orders of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Supposedly, Rajiv Gandhi had come under pressure from then US President Ronald Reagan, who is reported to have intervened directly on behalf of Anderson. Of course, till this day, the public does not know for sure what exactly happened and how — and now, any hope of an official confirmation has been buried as all the top players have passed away. Even Arjun Singh, who milked the controversy for the rest of his life, did not shed any light on the matter. In his tell-all book published after his death, he teases the reader with how he had brought up with the Prime Minister, the matter of Anderson's arrest a day before the American had arrived in India. He even recounted how Rajiv Gandhi had taken him aside for a top-secret chat, while they were visiting hospitals in Bhopal. But he did not say anything more.