Tazreen owner, wife sent to prison

Tazreen Fashions' owner Delwar Hossain and his wife were ordered to prison after both surrendered in court on Sunday seeking bail.

Dhaka’s Senior Judicial Magistrate Tajul Islam rejected their bail petitions and ordered Delwar and wife Mahmuda to jail.

Lawyer ATM Golam Gaus represented Hossain and his wife in court.

Tazreen’s Managing Director Delwar Hossain and Chairperson Mahmuda Aktar surrendered before Dhaka's Magistrate Court on Sunday morning, more than a month after police submitted the chargesheet in the case, Additional Public Prosecutor Anwarul Kabir Babul said.

A fire gutted Tazreen Fashions' factory at Ashulia, on the outskirts of capital Dhaka, on Nov 24, 2012.

More than 110 factory workers died and more than 200 others sustained severe burns.

Ashulia Police Station Sub-Inspector Khairul Islam filed the case accusing unidentified people a day after the fire.

The charge of death due to negligence (Under article 304a) was included in the case later along with that of sabotage.

The CID on Jan 2 last year took over the investigation of the case.

Tazreen's workers alleged that the doors of the factory remained closed even after the fire started, leaving them no option to escape the deadly inferno.

Investigation also found that the factory was constructed in flagrant violation of the building code.

Police on Dec 22 last year submitted the chargesheet on the case pressing charges against 13 people including Delwar Hossain and his wife Mahmuda Aktar.

The accused have been charged for man slaughter and death caused by negligence under Section 304 and 304 (a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Maximum punishment would be life sentence in the first and up to five years in prison for the second charge.

Four other Tazreen Fashions Ltd officials who have been charged are absconding.

They are engineer Mahbub Morshed, factory manager Abdur Razzak, quality manager Shahiduzzaman Dulal and production manager Mobarak Hossain Manju.

The company's administrative officer Dulal, store manager Hamidul Islam Lavlu, security supervisor Al Amin, security guard Rana alias Anarul, store-in-charge Al Amin and loader Shamim Mia are currently on bail.

The readymade garment factory's security-in-charge Anisur Rahman is behind bars, but plea for his bail has been made.

The prosecution had listed 104 witnesses in the case.