Trial drags on as all accused except Sohel Rana out on bail

Even though 11 years have passed since the collapse of Rana Plaza in Savar, the trial of the murder case in this incident has not been completed till now. In addition, all the accused except building owner Sohel Rana are out of jail on bail. Moreover, the trial of the case filed under the Building Construction Rules Act for alleged defects in the construction of the building has not seen much progress.

Every year on April 24, the workers killed in the incident are remembered in various events. Various labourers organizations and the relatives of the slain workers demanded justice; But days go by, months go by, years go by and justice is not met. The verdict of the murder case, which is widely discussed in the country and abroad, has not been announced even in the last 11 years.

Due to the lengthy process of taking the testimony, the case has not yet been resolved, said the people concerned. Because of this, on February 15 this year, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court ordered the trial court to settle the murder case within the next six months. The Apex Court meanwhile has suspended the bail of building owner Sohel Rana until that time.

Sohel Rana, the owner of the Rana Plaza building, was captured by RAB from Benapole on April 29, 2013, in connection with the collapse of the building. He has been in prison ever since.

The police filed a murder case on the charge of negligent death in that incident. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha-Rajuk has filed a case for the construction of the building in violation of the Building Construction Act. Apart from this, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed another case regarding the corruption related to the construction of the building.

The High Court granted bail to Sohel Rana in the murder case on April 6 last year. When the state appealed against it, the Chamber Judge suspended the High Court bail granted to Sohel Rana on April 9 of that year. The appeal filed by the state was sent for hearing to the regular bench of the Appellate Division as well. Rana's bail application was adjourned after the hearing on July 10 last year. Following this, the matter came up in court again on February 15 this year and the Appellate Division fixed six months to complete the trial of the case. The case is now at the hearing stage. The deposition is being taken in the case at the court of Dhaka Additional District and Sessions Judge Syeda Minhaj Um Munira.

The deposition in the murder case began in 2022 after being stayed for nearly six years by the High Court. However, the proceedings of the case of construction of buildings without following the building rules have been suspended by the order of the High Court. Although several cases were filed after the Rana Plaza collapse, these two are the main ones. In the two cases, building owner Sohel Rana is in jail, but most of the accused are on bail or absconding.

Bimal Samaddar, the state lawyer, said, "To speed up the murder trial in the Rana Plaza collapse, three dates will be kept every week from next May to take a deposition as the Supreme Court has ordered to complete the trial in this case within six months."

"We will not get all the witnesses. Moreover, the testimony of all the witnesses is not necessary. Efforts will be made to complete the trial of the case quickly. Let's see how far we succeed," he added.

On April 24, 2013, the 10-storey Rana Plaza building adjacent to Savar Bus Stand collapsed. About 5,000 workers from several garment factories housed in that building were trapped under the rubble. Of them, 1,132 were found dead in several days of rescue operations while 2,438 people were rescued alive from under the rubble. Among them, about 2,000 workers were injured and disabled. RAB arrested the building owner, Sohel Rana, from Benapole, Jessore on April 29, five days after the incident while he was fleeing to India. On June 1, 2015, after more than two years of filing the case, two charge sheets were submitted by the investigating officer Bijay Krishna Kar, senior assistant superintendent of police at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). In one case, 41 people including the building owner, Sohel Raba, his parents, and the then mayor and commissioner of Savar municipality, were charged with premeditated murder. And 18 people including Sohel Rana were accused in another charge sheet for the construction of Rana Plaza without following the building rules. There were 42 accused in two charge sheets. Among them, 17 people including Sohel Rana were made accused in both cases.

On July 18, 2016, the then District and Sessions Judge of Dhaka SM Quddus Zaman ordered the trial of the murder case to begin by framing charges against 41 accused. Among the 41 accused in this case, only the building owner Sohel Rana is currently in jail. Among the accused, Rana's father Abdul Khalek alias Kalu Khalek, Abu Bakar Siddique, and Abul Hossain have already died. After filing the complaint, eight people including the then Savar municipality mayor Refayet Ullah and councillor Mohammad Ali Khan applied to the High Court seeking cancellation of the case. Responding to their plea, the High Court issued an order suspending the proceedings of the case. By doing this, the process of taking depositions in the case was blocked. Later, the suspension of charge framing hearing of other accused except Mohammad Ali Khan was withdrawn. Five-and-a-half-year after the complaint was filed, on January 31, 2022, the hearing of the case began in Dhaka District and Sessions Judge AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan's Court which is currently ongoing.