The Anti-Corruption Commission has found evidence that Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana was also involved in the irregularities while constructing the faulty eight-storey commercial building that collapsed on April 24 last year.
The commission will soon file charges against 18 people including Rana’s father Abdul Khalek and mother Morjina Begum, officials said.
Earlier, while approving the charges on June 12, the commission spared Rana, who is a Jubo League leader from Savar.
The other accused in the case are Savar municipality Mayor Refayet Ullah, architect of the building and Khulna University teacher ATM Masud Reza and Savar municipality ward 7 councillor Mohammad Ali Khan. Owners of three garment units housed in the building – Phantom Apparels Ltd Chairman Mohammad Aminul Islam, New Wave Bottom Limited Managing Director Bazlus Samad and Ether Tex Limited Chairman Azizur Rahman, have also been named in the charges.
According to the inquiry, the municipality initially approved the construction of a six-storey building but later approved the addition of four more floors, though it had no authority to approve such an extension.
The building that housed at least five garment factories collapsed and killed at least 1,138 people on April 24, a day after cracks had developed in the structure. More than 2,500 people were injured while many others remain missing since the incident.
Police filed murder cases in connection with the deadly incident and Rajuk lodged a case for flouting building construction rules. A Dhaka court has fixed August 13 for the submission of charge sheets in the cases.