The Dhaka District and Sessions Judge’s Court on Thursday posted for May 15 the hearing in the framing of charges against 42 people, including Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana, of killing an estimated 1,137 people killed in the building collapse. The judge, SM Kudduszaman, passed the order taking cognisance of the charges pressed against the 42.The four detained accused – Sohel Rana, Savar municipality sub-assistant engineer Md Rakibul Islam, its building inspector Md Awlad Hossain and local contractor Abdul Hamid – were produced before the court.Besides, 26 accused are now on bail while the rest 12 are still in hiding. Dhaka additional chief judicial magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman Nahid also posted for May 10 the hearing in the framing of charges in another case for violating the Building Code against the main accused Sohel Rana and 17 others. On the morning of April 24, 2013, the eight-storey Rana Plaza, which had housed five clothing factories, a shopping mall and a bank, came crashing down, leaving at least 1,137 people dead and about 2,000 injured and maimed. Several dozen workers are still missing. After a long delay, the Criminal Investigation Department on June 1, 2015 submitted the charge sheets to the Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in the two cases field for the building collapse. In the two charge sheets, 17 of the 42 accused were common. Sohel Rana’s father Abdul Khalek and mother Marjina Begum and 12 government officials were among the accused. Besides, 594 people were named as witnesses in the murder case while 135 in the other case. On the day when the complex collapsed, Rjdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha filed a case with Savar model police station against Sohel Rana for violating the Bangladesh National Building Code. Police also filed a case accusing six people, including Sohel Rana, on April 25 of causing death by negligence.Police arrested Sohel Rana on April 28, 2013.
