Even after 10 years of the biggest industrial disaster in the history of mankind, justice for the families of the victims of Rana Plaza collapse still remains a far cry as the trial proceeding of the murder case filed over the structural killing is progressing at a snail’s pace.
A number of 1,138 people, mostly garment factory workers, were killed and over 2,400 injured at their workplaces due to the collapse of Rana Plaza, a nine-storied building housing several garment factories, at Savar on the outskirts of the capital on April 24, 2013.
Dhaka court sources said only 48, out of 594, witnesses have testified before the court in the last seven years since the charges were framed against 41 accused in July 2016 in the murder case.
The unending wait for justice is not going to be over anytime soon as there is very little progress in the murder case filed under penal code on charges of killing.
Besides, the trial in another case filed on charges of violation of building codes in the construction of the nine-storied building is yet to begin.
Joly Talukder, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Centre, told The Business Post, “Already 10 years have gone but there is no sign of ending the trial of the case. Even Sohel Rana, owner of the Rana Plaza and prime accused of the murder case, was granted bail recently by the High Court. However, it was later stayed by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Rests of the culprits are already roaming at larges after getting bail.”
“Where is the justice for the family members of the 1,138 victims of workplace death? It is alarming to all,” Joly observed gloomily.
Dhaka court sources said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in June 2015 submitted two separate charge sheets – one for murder and the other for building code violation case – against 42 accused, including building owner Sohel Rana.
Sohel Rana, his parents Abdul Khaleque and Morjina Begum and 34 others were charged with causing the death of the workers while four others were accused of sheltering Rana and helping him flee.
In 2016, two separate Dhaka courts framed charges against 42 accused in the two cases.
Following the charge-framing, the trial was supposed to begin on September 18, 2016, but the trial could not start due to a petition filed by the accused challenging the indictment.
Since then, the trial in the cases has been stuck with two Dhaka courts for around seven years due to High Court stay orders following petitions of the accused.
Among the accused, only Sohel Rana is now in jail while 31 others are enjoying free life after coming out from jail on bail. Six accused are still on the run and three died in the meantime.
Almost no progress in murder case trial in 6 years
Court sources said after charges were framed against all the accused in the murder case on July 18, 2016, the Dhaka District and Sessions Judge’s Court asked the complainant to appear before it to testify in the case.
But after the indictment order, eight accused, including the then Savar municipality mayor Refayet Ullah and councillor Mohammad Ali Khan, filed writ petitions with the High Court challenging the indictment.
The HC then stayed all the proceedings of the case in the same year. Since then, proceedings of the murder case remained stalled for long six years due to the HC stay.
After the HC vacated the stay orders of all the accused, a Dhaka court finally began recording the testimony of witnesses in the murder case on January 31 last year.
The trial is now undergoing at the court of Judge AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan of District and Sessions Judges Court in Dhaka.
“The trial was stayed by an HC order for almost six years, but it began in January last year and a total of 48 witnesses have testified before the court in one year,” said Bimal Samaddar, additional public prosecutor of the court.
He said, “There are 594 prosecution witnesses in the case. Now the hearing is held every month. We are issuing summons to witnesses for testimony.”
At least five to seven witnesses are testifying every date. Some witnesses could not be found as their addresses have been changed in the meantime, he said.
Sohel Rana’s lawyer Faruque Ahmed said, “Proceedings of the can might go on but the accused has the right to bail as he has been in jail for a long time.”
Building code violation case stuck for 7 years
On July 18, 2016, the Dhaka Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court framed charges against 18 accused, including Sohel Rana, in the case filed over violation of building codes.
Almost seven years have passed since the indictment, but the court is yet to start recording deposition of witnesses in the case due to a stay order.
Challenging the order of framing of charges, some accused filed revision applications with the Dhaka District and Sessions Judges Court. The revision petitions of accused Bajlus Samad and Engineer Mahbubur Rahman were rejected.
On the other hand, Phantom Apparels Limited Chairman Mohammad Aminul Islam was relieved from the charge after the court granted his petition.
Besides, on November 8, 2021, the HC stayed the trial proceedings following a petition of an accused in the case.
The recording of testimony in the case has not started till now due to these legal complexities, said Anwarul Kabir Babul, additional public prosecutor of the court.
“We are trying our level best to start recording of deposition in the case,” he added.
