Police have submitted a charge sheet against two building owners and six others in a case filed over the devastating fire that killed 70 people in Chawkbazar of Old Dhaka in 2019.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Abdul Qayyum of Chawkbazar police station, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court.
General Recording Officer (GRO) of the court Sub-Inspector Md Helal Uddin confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune. He said: “The investigation officer submitted the charge sheet on Tuesday but it was disclosed today [Wednesday].”
The eight accused named in the charge sheet are the owners of Wahed Mansion located at Churihatta in Old Dhaka -- Md Hasan Sultan and Md Hossain Sultan alias Sohel – and owners of a chemical warehouse Imtiaz Ahmed, Mozammel Iqbal, Mozaffar Uddin, Md Jawad Atiq, Md Nabil Ahmed and Md Kashif Hossain.
The main charge against the accused is negligence, which has resulted in the deaths and injuries. The allegation was proven during investigation and they should be brought under trial, said OC Qayyum.
The court is set to hold a hearing on the matter on March 23.
On February 20, 2019, a deadly fire ravaged several multi-storey buildings, shops, chemical and plastic warehouses on Nanda Kumar Lane at Chawkbazar’s Churihatta intersection.
A local named Asif filed the case against 14 people, including the two building owners for causing loss of lives and properties by fire caused by negligence.
According to the case, the two owners rented their house as a godown of chemical and flammable materials for making extra profit, in spite of knowing about the risk of fire accidents.
Apart from killing 70 people, the fire left scores of others severely injured from the warehouse storing cosmetics, especially spray canisters, on the first floor of Haji Wahed Mansion.
Building owner Md Hasan had also reportedly threatened Md Azam, the owner of Rajmahal Hotel, from where CCTV footage of the fire was collected.
The CCTV camera footage from Azam’s restaurant, which went viral on the internet, showed the massive fire had originated on the first floor of Wahed Mansion.
