No case disposed of yet

4 years of rana plaza tragedy

Two criminal and several labour court cases filed over the Rana Plaza building collapse in Savar in April 2013 have reached the trial stages, but none of them is close to a verdict even more than four years after the incident, leaving survivors and families of victims disappointed.
Two criminal cases—one of them filed by the state on behalf of a relative of a worker killed in the accident—are still pending in trial courts, and 11 others, over breach of labour laws, are lying unresolved at the Labour Court. The delay in the disposal of the cases has prompted affected workers and labour rights activists to question the government’s sincerity about ensuring justice. However, the prosecution expects the trial proceedings initiated in two cases to be completed this year. On June 14 last year, a Dhaka court had indicted Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana and 17 others on charges of violating the building code.
After a brief hearing, the trial court had, on August 23, adjourned the trial proceedings for two months and the case proceedings in the trial court against Rana and 17 others are now on hold, as the defendants have filed a petition in the High Court, challenging the charges.
The trial court will take a total of 130 witness statements on design flaws, unapproved extensions and the use of substandard building materials.
However, the High Court had, on November 13 last year, stayed for six months the murder case proceedings against former Savar municipality councillor Mohammad Ali Khan in connection with the Rana Plaza collapse.  
The former councillor, now out on bail, has been charged with giving a no-objection certificate regarding the design of the eight-storey building in 2008.
The other case, in which 42 people, including Rana Plaza factory owners, the local mayor, and 14 government officials face murder charges, is also pending before the trial court.
Talking to The Independent, Garment Workers Unity Forum president, Mushrefa Mishu, said, “The delay in the investigation and the trial proceedings seems deliberate, as it is evident who are responsible for the tragedy…”   She blamed the government for the delay,

saying it did not want to establish the rule of law and justice. “This delay is unacceptable. The victims deserve justice as well as full compensation for lost wages and medical costs as well as for the pain and suffering caused [by the disaster].”
On the morning of April 24, 2013, the eight-storey Rana Plaza, which housed five clothing factories, a shopping mall and a bank, came crashing down, leaving at least 1,135 people dead and about 2,000 injured.  
After the disaster, police filed a case against the building owner, Sohel Rana, and the owners of the five clothing factories housed in the building under Sections 337, 338, 427, 304 (b) and 34 of the Penal Code.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha filed another case against the Savar municipality under Section 12 of the Building Construction Act 1952.
On June 1 last year, after concluding the investigation, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police submitted the long-awaited charge-sheets before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Dhaka against 42 people, including the owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, Sohel Rana alias Kulu Rana, his father, Abdul Khaled alias Kulu Khaled, and mother, Morzina Begum.
In one of the two cases, 41 people were charged with murder, while, in the other, 18 were charged with violations of the building code. Of the 18 accused in the building code violation case, 17 were also named in the murder case.
Among the 41 accused in the killing case, only three, including prime accused Sohel Rana, are in jail, 25 are absconding, while 13, including Rana’s father, are out on bail.
Among the 18 accused in the building code violation case, Rana is in jail, seven are on the run, while 10, including Rana’s father, are out on bail.
There were 594 prosecution witnesses in the murder case and 130 in the case related to the violation of the building code.
A lawyer of the prosecution team, Abdul Mannan, said though the court had sought the opinion of the ministry concerned to bring charges of negligence against four government officials, the government had not so far shown the green light. “However, during the trial proceedings, the court will consider whether charges can be brought against them,” he added. “If everything is okay, the trial proceedings of the two cases might be completed within this year.” Talking to this correspondent, additional public prosecutor Anwarul Kabir Babul said 13 of the 17 accused of violating the building code had been produced before the court, but they had pleaded not guilty. The rest have been absconding since the initiation of the case. They pleaded to be exempted from the case but the judge refused, said the prosecutor. In response to a query, he said the trial proceedings would conclude by this year if everything went smoothly.

 

 

No case disposed of yet

4 years of rana plaza tragedy

Two criminal and several labour court cases filed over the Rana Plaza building collapse in Savar in April 2013 have reached the trial stages, but none of them is close to a verdict even more than four years after the incident, leaving survivors and families of victims disappointed. Two criminal casesone of them filed by the state on behalf of a relative of a worker killed in the accidentare still pending in trial courts, and 11 others, over breach of labour laws, are lying unresolved at the Labour Court. The delay in the disposal of the cases has prompted affected workers and labour rights activists to question the governments sincerity about ensuring justice. However, the prosecution expects the trial proceedings initiated in two cases to be completed this year. On June 14 last year, a Dhaka court had indicted Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana and 17 others on charges of violating the building code. After a brief hearing, the trial court had, on August 23, adjourned the trial proceedings for two months and the case proceedings in the trial court against Rana and 17 others are now on hold, as the defendants have filed a petition in the High Court, challenging the charges. The trial court will take a total of 130 witness statements on design flaws, unapproved extensions and the use of substandard building materials. However, the High Court had, on November 13 last year, stayed for six months the murder case proceedings against former Savar municipality councillor Mohammad Ali Khan in connection with the Rana Plaza collapse. The former councillor, now out on bail, has been charged with giving a no-objection certificate regarding the design of the eight-storey building in 2008. The other case, in which 42 people, including Rana Plaza factory owners, the local mayor, and 14 government officials face murder charges, is also pending before the trial court. Talking to The Independent, Garment Workers Unity Forum president, Mushrefa Mishu, said, The delay in the investigation and the trial proceedings seems deliberate, as it is evident who are responsible for the tragedy She blamed the government for the delay, saying it did not want to establish the rule of law and justice. This delay is unacceptable. The victims deserve justice as well as full compensation for lost wages and medical costs as well as for the pain and suffering caused [by the disaster]. On the morning of April 24, 2013, the eight-storey Rana Plaza, which housed five clothing factories, a shopping mall and a bank, came crashing down, leaving at least 1,135 people dead and about 2,000 injured. After the disaster, police filed a case against the building owner, Sohel Rana, and the owners of the five clothing factories housed in the building under Sections 337, 338, 427, 304 (b) and 34 of the Penal Code. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha filed another case against the Savar municipality under Section 12 of the Building Construction Act 1952. On June 1 last year, after concluding the investigation, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police submitted the long-awaited charge-sheets before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Dhaka against 42 people, including the owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, Sohel Rana alias Kulu Rana, his father, Abdul Khaled alias Kulu Khaled, and mother, Morzina Begum. In one of the two cases, 41 people were charged with murder, while, in the other, 18 were charged with violations of the building code. Of the 18 accused in the building code violation case, 17 were also named in the murder case. Among the 41 accused in the killing case, only three, including prime accused Sohel Rana, are in jail, 25 are absconding, while 13, including Ranas father, are out on bail. Among the 18 accused in the building code violation case, Rana is in jail, seven are on the run, while 10, including Ranas father, are out on bail. There were 594 prosecution witnesses in the murder case and 130 in the case related to the violation of the building code. A lawyer of the prosecution team, Abdul Mannan, said though the court had sought the opinion of the ministry concerned to bring charges of negligence against four government officials, the government had not so far shown the green light. However, during the trial proceedings, the court will consider whether charges can be brought against them, he added. If everything is okay, the trial proceedings of the two cases might be completed within this year. Talking to this correspondent, additional public prosecutor Anwarul Kabir Babul said 13 of the 17 accused of violating the building code had been produced before the court, but they had pleaded not guilty. The rest have been absconding since the initiation of the case. They pleaded to be exempted from the case but the judge refused, said the prosecutor. In response to a query, he said the trial proceedings would conclude by this year if everything went smoothly.