‘Rana Plaza charge-sheets soon’

State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Kamal has said charge-sheets in the cases over the deaths in Rana Plaza collapse will be pressed soon.

Court CorrespondentStaff and bdnews24.com
Published : 24 April 2014, 07:57 PM
Updated : 24 April 2014, 07:58 PM

“The delay is happening so that the charges can be pressed properly. But it will be submitted soon,” he told the press on Thursday.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Hasan Mahmud Khandker said at the briefing that charge-sheets in two of the four Rana Plaza cases had already been filed and those in two others would be filed in a matter of days.

File Photo

He said: “I would have been happy personally, had the charge-sheets in all the Rana Plaza cases been submitted before Apr 24 (this year).”

OC (Prosecution) at Dhaka’s chief judicial magistrate court Md Asaduzzaman said Senior Judicial Magistrate Wasim Sheikh ordered submission of probe reports in two cases filed for deaths and for violation of Building Code on May 26 and May 21 respectively.

The court also asked the investigating officer, Criminal Investigation Department Assistant Superintendent of Police Bijoy Krishna Kar, to explain the delay in the probe.

The officer said the CID was conducting the probe in the case ‘sincerely’. “Charge-sheets will be submitted soon.”

The state minister said that 21 people had so far been arrested over the Rana Plaza collapse, one of the world’s worst industrial accidents, but eight of them secured bail from the High Court.

The incident, which happened on Mar 24 last year at Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka city, claimed at least 1,135 lives, mostly workers of five readymade garment factories housed in the building.

The home ministry organised the briefing, marking the first anniversary of the accident.

A minute’s silence was observed in the memory of those killed before the minister briefed the press.

Meanwhile, six incumbent and former presidents and general secretaries of Dhaka Bar Association have criticised the filing of ‘accidental death’ cases instead of murder cases in the incident.

They also criticised the tardy probe and termed filing the of accidental death cases ‘a farce’.

Former association president Md Borhan Uddin described the incident as ‘planned murders’