FR Tower fire: 2 owners sent to jail

A Dhaka court today rejected the bail petitions of two owners of FR Tower and sent them to jail in connection with the case filed over the devastating fire that ripped through the high-rise building on March 28 killing 26 people.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sadbir Yasir Ahsan Chowdhury passed the order after Md Jalaluddin, inspector of Detective Branch of Police and also the investigation officer of the case, produced them before the court upon completion of the their seven-day remand.

Earlier on March 31, SMHI Faruque, the land owner of the FR Tower in Banani and also an engineer, and Tasvirul Islam, one of the owners of the high-rise building, were placed on a seven-day remand each.

WHAT ARE THE CHARGES AGAINST THEM?

The two, along with Liakat Ali Khan alias Mukul, 57, chairman of Rupayan Group, the builder company and leaders of the building management committee, and some unidentified persons, were charged for the death of people due to negligence.

The case was filed with Banani Police Station by Sub-Inspector Milton Dutt.

In the case statement, he mentioned that the accused showed utter negligence to human life and property by violating building construction rules, by not keeping safe exits so that people can come to safety and not implementing fire safety measures.

“Such work led to the death of 26 people, the injury of over 100 others and the damage of properties of adjacent buildings,” the statement read.

The accused committed the offences as part of their ill motive to make financial benefit, it stated.