Anderson was arrested on December 7, 1984 and was released on the same day. He was flown to Delhi after his release. The next day, at a hurriedly-convened Press Conference, Arjun Singh asserted that whatever was done, including the arrest and the subsequent release of Anderson, was in keeping with the legal provisions. No law had been violated or twisted to favour Anderson, he had asserted.

The chief minister faced a volley of questions over the dramatic manner in which Anderson was arrested and then set free. Some newsmen pointed out that the whole drama had made the government a laughing stock all over the world. The chief minister retorted that we would have become a laughing stock had “we not taken this action”.

He also denied the charge that double standards were applied vis-a-vis the arrest of Anderson and the two Indian top executives of the company. The newsmen also wanted to know why Anderson was allowed to use the state government plane for his journey back to Delhi. Arjun Singh's cryptic reply was that whatever was done was done in wider public interest.

Graphic details about the arrest and subsequent release of Anderson were published in the local newspapers of December 8, 1984. This correspondent is in possession of almost all the newspapers of that day.

Most of the newspapers published the report with headline “Government drama of arrest and release of Anderson”. A large number of newsmen were at the Bhopal airport when Anderson landed but they were not allowed to meet him. From the airport, he was taken to the luxurious guest house of the Union Carbide. There were conflicting reports about the timing of his arrest. At one stage, it was informed that he was arrested at the airport. Later, it was stated that he was told about his arrest at the guest house.

Journalists waited for Anderson at the main gate of the guest house. They were not allowed entry inside. The journalists were still waiting when Anderson was taken to the airport through the backdoor of the guest house. The then district Collector Moti Singh, who escorted Anderson to the airport recalls that when, despite efforts, the rusted lock of the gate on the backside of the guest house could not be opened, the entire gate was detached from its hinges to make way for Anderson's car. There was a kuccha road behind the guest house. Anderson was taken via that road, Moti Singh told this correspondent a day after the Bhopal court verdict in the UCC case.

During all this exercise, no one could get any hint about Anderson's quiet departure. After he had left, Sudeep Bannerjee, Director of Information appeared before the newsmen and informed them that Anderson had been taken to New Delhi. It came as a rude shock to the scribes. Angry newsmen asked the official spokesperson to explain how and why Anderson was treated like a state guest. “Did you expect us to parade him on the streets of Bhopal? was his riposte.

In the evening, another press conference was held where an official spokesperson read out a prepared statement of chief minister Arjun Singh. In his statement, Arjun Singh assured that the Government would not spare those responsible for the Bhopal disaster.

Announcing the arrest of Anderson and two other Indian officials of the UCC, the spokesperson listed the sections of the IPC which were invoked against them. The sections were 304, 304A, 426, 429, 278, 284 and 120. Legal provisions stipulated that a person arrested under these sections be presented before a Sessions judge. Instead, the police itself bailed Anderson out. Despite this, Singh claimed that both the arrest and the release were in keeping with the law.

But suddenly, the government changed its stance. At a press conference held at 8 PM the same day, an official spokesperson asserted that the government had released Anderson as it thought that his presence was not required in India. This again came as a shock. This assertion of the government was challenged both by the journalists as well as the legal fraternity. Newspapers repeatedly charged that Anderson was released under US pressure but the charge was denied with vehemence.

On reaching New Delhi, Anderson met the then foreign secretary Maharaj Krishna Rasgotra. According to reports published in the newspapers of December 9, 1984, Anderson was told that he, in fact, was placed in protective custody. His presence in Bhopal would have created problems both for him as well as the government.

While Anderson was released, Keshav Mahindra and VP Gokhale, who were also arrested along with him, moved an application for bail before a court. However, angry lawyers of Bhopal did not allow Vijay Gupta, the advocate for Mahindra and Gokhale, to present their bail applications. They were remanded to police custody.

After the arrest and release of Anderson, the gas leak case was handed over to the CBI.

Besides Anderson, another important American visited Bhopal in the immediate aftermath of the gas leak. He was Stephen Solarz, then a Democrat member of the US House of Representatives. After his return from India, he held a press conference at Washington DC on January 4, 1985 where he bitterly criticised the American laws that allowed the US companies operating on foreign lands not to maintain the security, environmental and health standards which they were supposed to maintain in their home country. He demanded that the laws be suitably amended to make it mandatory for the American companies to disclose their manufacturing processes, the risks involved and the measures to be taken in case of emergency to the government of the host country. He also expressed surprise that the disaster had not soured Indo-American relations. “The people of Bhopal are very angry, but their anger is not directed against India”, he said. (IPA)