M A I N   N E W S

Dabwali fire: three get jail

New Delhi, July 18
Three Dabwali fire accused were today sent to jail after the Special CBI court in Ambala confirmed the sentence, pronounced by a court earlier, asking them to undergo a two-year jail term for negligence leading to the death of more than 400 children of a school.

CBI sources said here that the three accused — Kewal Krishan Dhameja, Rajendra Kumar and Devi Lal — had challenged the sentence given to them by a trial court on March 28 last year.

The three were arrested after their appeals were rejected by the special court.

As many as 441 children and their parents were killed when a fire swept through the Rajeev Marriage Palace at Dabwali during the annual day function of DAV School on December 23 in 1995.

The CBI registered a case on January 2, 1996, under Sections 304-A and 338 of the IPC on the recommendation of the Haryana Government. After completing the investigation, the CBI filed the charge sheet in the special court in Ambala on May 28, 1996, against four persons — the two partners of the Rajeev Marriage Palace Kewal Krishan, Chanderbhan Dhameja (who died during the trial) and two electricians Rajendra Kumar and Devi Lal — who were deployed by the owners at the palace at the time of the incident. UNI