Court defers verdict in Rana Plaza corruption case

A Dhaka court on Sunday set 1 September for pronouncing the verdict in the corruption case against Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana and seven others, filed over irregularities in the construction of the plaza in Savar.

Judge BM Tarikul Kabir of the Dhaka Divisional Special Judge’s Court set the new date, said Bench Assistant Ariful Islam.

According to court sources, Sunday was set for delivering the verdict. However, the court deferred the date as the verdict was not ready.

Along with Sohel Rana, the other accused in the case are former Savar Municipality mayor Refat Ullah, former chief executive officer Uttam Kumar Roy, executive engineer Rafiqul Islam, former assistant engineer Mahbubur Rahman, former sub-assistant engineer Rakibul Hasan Russell, former town planner Farzana Islam and licence inspector Md Abdul Motaleb.

During the trial, Rana’s father Abdul Khaleque and mother Morzina Khatun Begum died and were subsequently discharged from the case.

On 24 April 2013, the eight-storey Rana Plaza near Savar bus stand collapsed, killing 1,135 people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

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The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched an investigation soon after the incident into corruption in the construction of the building. A case was later filed over alleged irregularities in its construction on 15 June 2014.

According to the case documents, Savar Municipality allowed five garment factories to be set up there although the building was initially approved as a shopping complex.

The trial in the case began after charges were framed on 21 May 2017. 19 out of 20 witnesses testified during the trial.