With The Railway Men trending in Netflix Top 10, the story of Warren Anderson after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy

YRF's The Railway Men, directed by debutant Shiv Rawail is presently among the top ten trending shows on Netflix India, providing the Indian audience with a gripping recap of the horrors of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy.

It also serves as a reminder of how Warren Anderson, the accused, managed to flee to America, right from under our noses.

Who was Warren Anderson?

• Warren Martin Anderson was the CEO at Union Carbide Corporation during 1984, the year when a methyl isocyanate gas leak from the Union Carbide Bhopal plant killed thousands of people in the small towns around it. 

• As the UCC CEO, Anderson was accused of manslaughter in India for ignoring safety warnings at Union Carbide India limited in Bhopal, which led to the fatal gas leak. 
• After the tragedy, Anderson came to India and was arrested promptly, only to be released a few hours later.
• In 1992, the Bhopal court declared him a fugitive for not showing up for hearings in a homicide case.

Anderson’s escape

• Following the CBI's assumption of control over the inquiry on December 6, 1984, Anderson faced house arrest at Union Carbide guest house in Bhopal, only to be released a few hours later, after the paid the bail money. 
• During his confinement at the Union Carbide guest house, he engaged in discussions with Indian authorities and legal representatives of the company.
• Some believe the US pressured the Rajiv Gandhi-led Indian government to release him. 
• Arjun Singh, the then Chief Minister, claimed he got instructions from Union Home Minister PV Narasimha Rao via Home Secretary RD Pradhan, who later denied this. 
• The Bhopal collector at that time, Moti Singh, revealed that Anderson used a phone in detention to contact people in the US, who aided his escape.
• After being released, Anderson was escorted to a private plane back to the US. 

Anderson after 1984

• In 2011, the Indian government attempted to extradite then 90-year-old Warren Anderson from the United States, which ultimately turned out to be a failure. 
• Supported by the US government, Anderson avoided extradition and managed to dodge legal notices by quietly moving between his homes in Vero Beach, Florida, and Greenwich, Connecticut, in the US. 
• At the age of 92, on September 29, 2014, Warren Anderson died at a Vero Beach nursing home in Florida, US.
• It was not Anderson's family but a local newspaper, and then the Associated Press who confirmed his death from official records.
• The cause of Anderson's death was never revealed.
• In August 2009, Union Carbide said they weren't running the plant during the Bhopal tragedy and that it was managed by Union Carbide India Limited employees.
• By June 7, 2010, an Indian court found eight former Union Carbide India Limited employees guilty of negligence in the Bhopal gas tragedy. One had passed away, and the rest got a two-year prison term plus a Rs 100,000 fine.

ALSO READ: Before The Railway Men: 10 things you need to know about 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy