Dhaka: Authorities in Bangladesh have filed murder charges against dozens of people for their roles in the collapse in 2013 of Rana Plaza that killed more than 1,100 people.
The charges were filed on Monday against 41 people, including the building’s owner, Sohel Rana, and his parents and more than a dozen government officials. The lead investigator, Bijoy Krishna Kar of the criminal investigation department, said the charges were over their direct role in the deaths of 1,137 people in the collapse of the garment factory building.
Rana Plaza: rallies in Bangladesh as victims await compensation
Investigators initially had said the accused, who also include the owners of the five factories in the building, would be charged with culpable homicide, but they later changed their plans due to the gravity of the accident, Bangladesh’s worst industrial disaster.
If convicted of murder, the defendants could face the death penalty. The maximum punishment for culpable homicide is seven years in jail.
Investigators said the shift from the culpable homicide charges came after the investigation found that Rana, his staff and the management of the five factories had forced the workers to enter the building despite their unwillingness to work on the day of the accident after the building developed major cracks a day earlier.
The police report called the deaths a “mass killing”. About 2,500 people were injured in the disaster.
Kar, who submitted the charges to a court in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, said a hearing would take place on 28 June to decide on further proceedings.
In a separate case, the accused will also face charges of violating safety rules inRana Plaza because additional floors were added to the original five-storey building, which was meant for office space and shopping malls. Later, illegally built upper floors were transformed into factories.
The April 2013 collapse of Rana Plaza, just outside Dhaka, highlighted the grim conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry. The extremely low wages have led global brands and retailers to choose it over China and other developing countries.
The building collapse triggered an uproar in Bangladesh and overseas for reforms in a sector that helps the country earn more than $20bn a year from exports, mainly to the US and Europe.
