On this day (24th April) in 2013, Rana Plaza building collapsed, killing 1,138 people. Most of the victims were garment workers who worked in one of the five factories in the eight-storey building.
Although nine years have elapsed, there is no major breakthrough in the trial proceedings of two cases filed over the country’s deadliest industrial disaster.
The wait for justice is not going to be over anytime soon as there is no significant progress in the case filed on charges of killing more than 1,100 people.
Trial in another case filed on charges of violation of building codes in the construction of the nine-storey building is yet to begin.
Different rights groups, workers’ organisations and leftist political parties will observe the 9th anniversary of Rana Plaza tragedy today when families of the victims and the survivors are living a miserable life.
Court sources said Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in June 2015 submitted two separate charge sheets — one for murder and the other for building code violation — 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.
The trial in the cases was stuck with two Dhaka courts for around six years due to High Court stay orders following petitions of the accused.
