Today marks the 13th anniversary of the horrific Rana Plaza collapse in Savar. On April 24, 2013, 1,138 workers lost their lives in the building collapse. The families of many injured and missing people are still living in inhuman conditions. Not a single trial in the five cases, including the murder case, that shook the world, has been completed. The cases are pending in the trial court.
There have also been demands to form a monitoring committee for the speedy disposal of the cases. Among them, the trial against 41 accused, including Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana, began on July 18, 2016, with the framing of charges in the murder case. The trial of the case has resumed after being suspended for several years by the High Court order. The testimony of 145 out of 594 witnesses has been completed. The next date for the recording of testimony in the case is scheduled for April 30 at the 8th Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court in Dhaka.
Additional Public Prosecutor of the court concerned, Faisal Mahmud, told The Bangladesh Pratidin, “After the framing of charges in the murder case, some of the accused went to the High Court and suspended the case. Due to this, the trial of the case was suspended for many years. Currently, there is no stay order; so the testimony is ongoing. Apart from that, after the case was transferred to our court, the testimony of 54 people has been completed so far. I hope that the trial of the case will soon reach the verdict stage.”
The trial of 18 accused, including building owner Sohel Rana, in a case filed under the Building Construction Act also began on June 16, 2016. Two accused were acquitted after filing a revision case against that order. Later, when one accused went to the High Court against the order of the subordinate court, the judicial proceedings were suspended. Additional Public Prosecutor of the concerned court, Ishtiaque Hossain Ziku, told The Bangladesh Pratidin, “On November 11, 2023, the then Dhaka District and Sessions Judge Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan took the Building Construction Act case to his court for trial on his own authority. However, there was a stay order on this case from the High Court for a long time. Currently, the case has come back to the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court for trial. Due to a stay order in favor of one of the accused in this case, the case has been initiated against the other accused. On April 20, process was issued to produce witnesses 1 to 3. It is hoped that the witnesses will appear in court on the next date.”
Meanwhile, the ACC has also filed a case on the charge of converting the approval of a six-storey building into a 10-storey building. After investigating the case, on February 13, 2017, the agency's deputy director Md. Nasim Uddin filed a charge sheet against 17 people. Currently, the case is at the stage of argument hearing in the court of Judge Sharmin Afroz of the Divisional Special Judge's Court of Dhaka. The court has completed the testimony of 19 out of a total of 20 witnesses in the case. On May 19, 2025, after hearing the defense, the court fixed a date for the argument hearing. The case has been at the stage of argument hearing for the past one year. The last date for further argument hearing was fixed on March 30, but it did not happen. The court has fixed May 17 for the next hearing.
In addition, after the Rana Plaza building collapsed, Dhaka District detective inspector Shahin Shah Parvez filed two cases under the Arms Act and the Special Powers Act at Dhamrai Police Station. Sohel Rana has been made the sole accused in these two cases. Currently, the two cases are pending in the court of First Additional District and sessions judge ABM Ashfaq-ul-Haq. Although the last two cases were scheduled for testimony on March 30, the witnesses did not appear. Therefore, the judge has set a new date for testimony on April 30. Another lawyer for Rana's side, Md. Badrul Islam (Jewel), expressed his anger and told The Bangladesh Pratidin that Sohel Rana is not the owner of the building. The building was registered in the name of his father Abdul Khalek alias Kulu Khalek. Only the building was in his name. It was a big crime. Will he kill people by harming himself? This is definitely not credible. A total of six cases were filed against Rana. All the cases were filed with great enthusiasm.
On April 24, 2013, 1,117 bodies were recovered in the Rana Plaza building collapse. Later, 19 more died while undergoing treatment in the hospital. 2,438 people were rescued alive from the rubble. Of the recovered bodies, 844 were handed over to their relatives. The unidentified bodies of 291 people were buried at Jurain Cemetery after DNA samples were taken. Of the rescued survivors, 1,524 were injured. 78 of them were paralyzed.
Demand for a monitoring committee to quickly dispose of cases: Leaders of various labor organizations have demanded the formation of a joint monitoring committee to quickly and effectively handle the cases filed in the Rana Plaza collapse. Speakers made this demand at a discussion meeting titled '13 years of Rana Plaza collapse: Current status of occupational health and safety in the garment industry' at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the capital on Thursday. The meeting was organized by the Industrial Bangladesh Council (IBC). A discussion meeting was held on the occasion of the 13th anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse to demand fair trial, compensation and a safe working environment for the workers.
Workers Resource Center chairman Ruhul Amin said that there is no room for underestimating the victims of the Rana Plaza accident. About 1,137 workers were killed in the incident and more than 2,500 workers were permanently disabled. He expressed his anger and said that workers repeatedly lose their lives in accidents, but the accountability of the owners is not ensured.
He said that a joint monitoring committee needs to be formed for the speedy disposal of the case.
(Translated by Lutful Hoque)
