Tazreen owner Delwar denied bail

A Dhaka court has rejected the bail petition of Managing Director of the Tazreen Fashions Delwar Hossain and granted a one-month conditional bail to his wife Mahmuda Akhter, the chairperson of the company.

Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Ismail Hossain gave the ruling on Monday.

Defence lawyer ATM Golam Gaus told bdnews24.com that the court had granted a one-month interim bail to Mahmuda.

On Sunday, Dhaka’s Senior Judicial Magistrate Tajul Islam ordered Delwar and Mahmuda to prison after both surrendered in court seeking bail.

Last month police submitted the chargesheet in a case for sabotage and death due to negligence in the fire that gutted Tazreen Fashions' factory at Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka on Nov 24, 2012.

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

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

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.