On April 24, 2013, a terrible tragedy in the history of the country was the Rana Plaza collapse in Savar. So that 1 thousand 136 people lost their lives. About one and a half thousand people were injured. A decade has passed since then. Those who are responsible for so many deaths, their trial is not over yet.
The concerned court officials are not able to say when the trial of these three cases of 2013 will be completed. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation has demanded that April 24 be declared a national mourning day. During the candle lighting program at the temporary altar located in front of Rana Plaza in Savar on Tuesday evening, President of the organization Rafiqul Islam Sujan said, ‘Every year on this day, we hold various programs in remembrance of the victims. Every year we come up with different claims. The demands are to declare April 24 as the National Labor Day of Mourning, to construct a monument in front of Rana Plaza, to acquire the land of Rana Plaza and arrange for the rehabilitation of affected and injured workers, to ensure maximum punishment for the culprits and to ensure compensation equal to one lifetime’s income to the injured workers. None of our long standing demands have been implemented. We have to fulfill our demands.’
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A total of four cases were filed at that time in connection with the death of a large number of people due to the collapse of the building. Among these, the police filed a case of murder citing death due to negligence, the Capital Development Authority (RAJUK) filed a case for constructing a building without complying with the Building Construction Act, and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed two cases related to corruption in building construction and concealment of information on assets. Of these, only the asset disclosure case filed by the ACC has been disposed of. Apart from this, court sources said that the judicial process of the case of corruption in building construction is ongoing. The remaining two cases are at the stage of taking evidence.
The trial of the main case in the incident began in 2022 after being adjourned for nearly six years by the order of the High Court. After that, the trial got some speed, but the main accused in the case, Sohel Rana, the owner of the building, got bail from the High Court. However, he has not yet been released as that bail has been suspended in the Appellate Division.
The then Sub-Inspector (SI) of Savar Police Station, Wali Ashraf, first filed a case of ‘negligent and culpable homicide’ in the building collapse incident. On April 26, 2015, CID Assistant Superintendent of Police Vijay Krishna filed a charge sheet against Kar Bhavan owner Sohel Rana and 41 people in this case. In the charge sheet, Rana has been accused of murder under Section 302 of IPC. On July 18, 2016, Dhaka District and Sessions Judge SM Quddus Zaman ordered the trial to begin by framing charges against the accused. Among the 41 accused in the Rana Plaza collapse murder case, only building owner Sohail Rana is currently in jail. Sohail Rana’s father Abdul Khalek, Abu Bakr Siddique and Abul Hussain died among the accused. Farooq Ahmed, one of the lawyers of the accused said that the rest are on bail.
84 out of 594 witnesses testified in two years
In the last two years, 84 out of 594 witnesses have testified in the case, according to the lawyer of the state, Additional Public Prosecutor of the District and Sessions Judge Court of Dhaka, Bimal Samaddar. He said that on April 21, District and Sessions Judge of Dhaka Md. Four testified in Helal Uddin’s court. The next hearing is scheduled for April 28. When asked when he expects the trial of the case to be completed, the lawyer for the state, Additional Public Prosecutor of the District and Sessions Judge’s Court, Bimal Samaddar, said that the trial of the case was suspended by the order of the High Court for almost six years. Approximately 84 witnesses have testified in the two years since the commencement of the taking of evidence. The date is happening every month. We are issuing court summons to every 10-15 witnesses. Many witnesses are not available. Although they were given their present address at the time of the case, they are not staying at that address now. He also said that the number of witnesses in this case is 594. Normally it will take some time to complete the trial. However, we have no lack of sincerity to finish the case from the state side. I hope to complete the testimony within the time given by the High Court.
Building Act case pending for 8 years
After the collapse of Rana Plaza, the building was constructed without complying with the building construction law. Helal Uddin filed a case in Savar police station. On April 26, 2015, CID Assistant Superintendent of Police Vijay Krishna filed a charge sheet in the court accusing 18 people including Sohel Rana, the owner of Kar Bhavan. On June 14, 2016, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Dhaka, Mostafizur Rahman, framed charges against the accused and ordered the trial to begin. Challenging the order of framing of complaint, some accused filed a revision application in the District and Sessions Judge Court of Dhaka. In which the revision application of New Web Bottoms Limited Managing Director Bajlus Samad and former Assistant Engineer Mahbubur Rahman has been rejected. When asked about the latest status of the case, Additional Public Prosecutor of the District and Sessions Judge’s Court Bimal Samaddar said that the taking of testimony has not started due to the stay order in the High Court on behalf of all the accused in this case. We will negotiate with the Attorney General’s Office and take steps to lift the suspension.
ACC verdict in two cases
After the arrest of Sohail Rana, ACC filed three cases against him and his family members. Rana was sentenced to three years in prison on August 29, 2017 in a non-submission case related to non-submission of assets. In this case, he was sentenced to another three months in prison without paying a fine of 50 thousand taka. Meanwhile, on March 29, 2018, the owner of Rana Plaza, Sohel Rana’s mother, Morjina Begum, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in a case filed by the ACC on the charge of obtaining wealth beyond known income and giving false information. In addition to the prison sentence, the court confiscated his assets worth 66.67 lakh 66 thousand 990 taka.
On April 24, 2013, the bodies of 1,117 people were recovered from the Rana Plaza building collapse. 19 others later died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. 2 thousand 438 people were rescued alive from the rubble. Out of the recovered bodies, 844 were handed over to their relatives. The unidentified bodies of 291 people were buried in the Jurain cemetery after DNA testing. Among the rescued survivors, 1,524 people were injured. 78 of them were paralyzed.
