Smart owners remand for questioning

A Dhaka court on Wednesday granted police two days to grill in custody the arrested Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of Smart Exports Ltd each in a case over the fire that killed seven female workers at the factory on Jan 26.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Hasibul Haque passed the order after the case’s investigation officer DMP Inspector (West) Humayun Kabir presented Chairman Sharif Abdul Salam, 44, and MD Zakir Ahmed ,56, with a seven-day remand plea before him.

Detectives detained the duo from a residence of the city’s Dhanmondi on Tuesday night after a case was filed by Altaf Hossain, the father of a victim.

Three directors of the factory were also accused in the case.

The remand plea mentioned the factory had poor fire-safety measures with narrow fire escape.

It also said the BGMEA-unapproved factory had no insurance and blamed the accused for the deadly fire.

The seven were killed and many others injured in stampede when the factory in a two-storied building caught fire in Mohammadpur’s Beribandh area.

Five of the injured workers are still undergoing treatment at the city’s Shikder Medical College.

Earlier on Nov 24, a devastating fire killed at least 111 workers in Tazreen Fashions Ltd. A home ministry probe committee recently recommended suing 10 officials, including owner Delwar Hossain, of the factory for the fire.

Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of readymade garments after China, and clothes account for up to 80 percent of the country's $24 billion annual exports.

Despite such high earnings from the readymade garments sector, safety of the workers has been overlooked and factory fire is not a new issue here.

Since the deaths in Tazreen Fashions, readymade garment workers are living in fear of fire.

In Dec, 2010, at least 25 people were killed in a blaze in the same industrial area. Another fire incident in KTS Textiles and Garments had claimed 54 lives in Chittagong in Feb, 2006.