Sheema Oxygen director gets bail in case over deadly blast

Parvez Uddin Shantu was arrested in connection with a deadly blast at the company's Sitakunda plant

Parvez Uddin Shantu, a director of Sheema Oxygen Limited, has secured bail in a case over the deadly blast at the company's plant in Chattogram's Sitakunda.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Shahriar Iqbal of Chattogram granted bail to Parvez on Wednesday.

The court granted bail to Parvez after hearing his plea, Chattogram District Court Inspector Zakir Hossain Mahmud confirmed.

Parvez is one of the company's directors, along with his two brothers, Mamun Uddin, the managing director of the parent company Sheema Group, and Ashraf Uddin Bappi, another director.

The three brothers were accused in a case filed by the relative of a victim of the explosion that tore through the facility on Mar 4, leaving at least seven people dead and around 25 others injured.

The plaintiff, Rokeya Begum, the widow of Abdul Quader who died in the blast, accused 16 people, including the owners, of negligence leading to the fatal blast.

Police arrested Parvez on Mar 14 after a probe into the blast found negligence on the factory management's part.

However, a photo of Parvez appearing in court in handcuffs and a rope tied around his waist went viral on Facebook, much to the chagrin of other plant owners.