FR Tower Design Forgery: Charges pressed against five

The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday pressed charges against five people in a case filed over forgery in the design of FR Tower in the capital’s Banani area.

Md Abu Bakar Siddique, assistant director of ACC, submitted the charge-sheet in the case, in which the accused are Syed Md Hossain Imam Faruq, a lease holder of FR Tower; Liakat Ali Khan Mukul, chairman of Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd; Md Humayun Khadem, former chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha; Md Saidur Rahman, former chief engineer of Rajuk, and Syed Makbul Ahmed, former authorised officer of Rajuk.

The FR Tower caught fire on March 28. The incident left 25 people dead and 73 others injured.

The ACC had filed two cases against 23 people for their alleged involvement in illegally extending Banani’s FR Tower beyond the permitted number of floors.

During investigation, the anti-graft body found that the 23-storey FR Tower had narrow exit points and staircases, and no fire alarm, while the fire exits were blocked.

The building authorities had legally obtained permission for a 15-storey building but they illegally added another eight storeys over time.