A Dhaka court yesterday accepted a charge sheet against 41 people accused in the murder case filed over the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, and also issued warrants for the arrest of 24 of them.
Sohel Rana, owner of the collapsed building who is now behind bars, was named the prime accused in the charge sheet while the 24 facing warrants are in hiding.
The remaining 16 are out on bail.
Dhaka Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Al-Amin took cognisance of the charge sheet and issued the warrants.
The judge also asked Savar Model police to submit a report on compliance regarding the arrest warrants on January 27, 2016.
On June 1, the Criminal Investigation Department pressed charges against 42 people, including Sohel Rana, in the two cases filed over the collapse of Rana Plaza. The other case was filed under the Building Construction Act.
Of the accused appearing in the two charge sheets, 17 were named in both. Sohel Rana’s father Abdul Khalek, mother Marjina Begum and 12 government officials have also been named.
Eight-storey Rana plaza that housed five garment factories, a shopping complex and a branch of Brac Bank, crumbled on April 24, 2013, killing over 1,135 people, mostly female workers, and injuring more than 2,500.
The two charge sheets described the owner of the building and officials of the garment factories as cold-blooded murderers for allowing workers to work despite knowing that the building had developed cracks and there were significant risks involved. Police arrested Sohel Rana four days after the collapse.
