Sohel Rana, owner of the ill-fated Rana Plaza that collapsed in 2013, killing over 1,100 workers, will remain in jail as the Appellate Division has stayed his bail for six months. The High Court had granted Rana bail on October 1 in a murder case connected to the tragedy, but the country's top court has now intervened, citing the severity of the case. The stay order was issued by a three-member bench, led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, after the state filed a petition to halt the bail. The Appellate Division has instructed that a rule issued on the bail stay be resolved within two months. Rana Plaza tragedy: Appellate Division stays Rana’s bail Representing the state, Attorney General Mohammad Arshadur Rouf and Barrister Anik R Haque argued the case, while Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir appeared on behalf of Sohel Rana. Rana, who was detained while attempting to flee to India in 2013, has since been held in Kashimpur Part-II Jail in Gazipur. Living under typical prison conditions, eyewitnesses describe him as having adapted to jail life with no visible signs of remorse for the catastrophe that forever altered Bangladesh’s garment industry. The 2013 collapse remains one of the world’s deadliest industrial disasters, leaving 1,138 workers dead and injuring more than 2,500 others. The Making of Rana Plaza: Corruption and Criminal Negligence Described by local media as an archetypal "mastan"—a term in Bangladesh referring to a neighbourhood thug or "muscleman"—Rana wielded considerable influence as a member of the ruling Jubo League's local political wing in Savar. Known for his ties to local politicians and law enforcement, he ran various businesses and used his position to gain political leverage. The structure, built in 2006 by Rana and his father Abdul Khalek, reportedly came into their possession through intimidation tactics and falsified property deeds. Why Article 116 of the Constitution Should Not Be Declared Unconstitutional  Despite the building’s initial design to support only small shops, Rana allegedly leveraged political connections to add three additional floors for factory use, increasing its height to five floors without adequate safety considerations. On April 23, 2013, a loud cracking sound prompted factory employees to alert an engineer, who observed large fissures in the building’s supporting columns and advised immediate evacuation. However, Rana reportedly dismissed these warnings, addressing the media the following day to suggest the issues were minor. When a generator on an upper floor activated, shaking the building, it triggered a catastrophic collapse that killed over a thousand workers, the majority of whom were young garment employees. The police quickly filed a murder case against Rana and other stakeholders, citing gross negligence and violations of building codes. However, over a decade later, justice for the victims remains slow and heavily contested. A Legacy of Corruption and Tragedy Rana Plaza's collapse brought global attention to the safety challenges in Bangladesh’s RMG industry, prompting significant reforms. Yet, the legal proceedings have been lengthy and contentious, often mired in bureaucratic delays and appeals. As the Appellate Division’s stay order holds for six months, the families of those who perished in the tragedy wait for a semblance of justice, hoping that the court will uphold the rights and safety of workers over political influence and corruption.

The Appellate Division on Sunday stayed a High Court (HC) order until May 8 that granted bail to Sohel Rana, the owner of the ill-fated Rana Plaza that collapsed in 2013 leaving 1,138 RMG workers dead, in a murder case over the deadly incident in Savar. Chamber Judge Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique passed the order after hearing a petition submitted by the state seeking a stay order in this regard. Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain and Assistant Attorney General Saiful Islam represented the state while former Food Minister Advocate Kamrul Islam stood for the accused. On that day (May 8), the regular bench of the Appellate Division will hold a hearing upon a petition to be submitted by the state, Assistant Attorney  General Saiful said. Earlier on April 6, a High Court bench granted bail to Rana in the case. The HC bench of Justice Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Shahed Nuruddin granted bail to Rana declaring  the HC rule in this regard valid. Advocate-on-record Sufia Khatun, on behalf of the state, filed a petition seeking a stay on the Rana’s bail order on Sunday. On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, an illegally-constructed building in Savar which housed five garment factories, came down crashing, killing 1,138 people and injuring over 2,000 others. Read more: Rana Plaza Collapse: HC grants bail to prime accused Rana Trial in the murder case filed over Rana Plaza collapse began officially on January 31, 2022 by recording statements of the witnesses. On July 18, 2016, Dhaka District and Session Court Judge SM Kuddus Zaman framed charges against the accused and passed an order to begin the trial. But it got barred as most of the accused appealed to the higher court challenging legality of the order. On January 31 last year, after clearing the appeals, District and Sessions Court Judge AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan recorded the statement of plaintiff, then Sub-Inspector of Savar police station Wali Ashraf. Over the tragic incident then SI of Savar police station Wali Ashraf filed a murder case accusing the owner and others of dereliction and negligence in building construction. On June 1, 2015, Assistant Superintendent of Crime Investigation Department (CID) of police Bijoy Krishna Kar submitted charge sheet in the case against 41 people including the building owner Sohel Rana. A total of 594 people were made witnesses in this case.

Nine years have gone by, but the affected families and survivors of Rana Plaza collapse are still haunted by the memory of the worst-ever tragedy in the country’s multi-billion-dollar ready-made garment (RMG) industry. Different right bodies, worker organisations and left-leaning political parties and  Rana Plaza Survivors’ Association have undertaken various programmes remembering the tragedy. Many workers’ organisations placed floral wreaths at the base of the Rana Plaza Memorial Sunday morning. The family members of the deceased and injured victims were also present there. Leaders and activists of different organisations also brought out a procession demanding capital punishment of Rana Plaza owners and compensation for victims’ families. On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, an illegally-constructed building in Savar which housed five garment factories, came down crashing, killing 1,138 people and injuring over 2,000 others. Little progress in Rana Plaza cases Trial in the murder case filed over Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 began officially on January 31 this year by recording statements of the witnesses. On July 18, 2016, Dhaka District and Session Court Judge SM Kuddus Zaman framed charges against the accused and passed an order to begin the trial. But it got barred as most of the accused appealed to the higher court challenging legality of the order. On January 31, after clearing the appeals, District and Sessions Court Judge AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan recorded the statement of plaintiff, then Sub-Inspector of Savar police station Wali Ashraf. Prime accused in the case, owner of Rana Plaza Sohel Rana is currently in jail while 40 others are on bail. Over the tragic incident then SI of Savar police station Wali Ashraf filed a murder case accusing the owner and others of dereliction and negligence in building construction. On June 1, 2015, Assistant Superintendent of Crime Investigation Department (CID) of police Bijoy Krishna Kar submitted charge sheet in the case against 41 people including the building owner Sohel Rana.

Closing in on the 9th anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy, over half the victims who survived with injuries report their physical condition as worsening - quadrupling from just 14 percent who reported the same one year ago. Among the 56.5 percent who reported their physical condition as worsening in the latest survey, waist pain, headache, pain in hand and leg, and back pain were some of the major problems. According to  ActionAid Bangladesh, who have been conducting the surveys periodicallythe trend from previous surveys showed that the physical health status of the survivors was slowly improving over the years -  but COVID-19 has reversed that progress. A third of the survivors, or 33 percent, are more or less stable, and 10.5 percent are completely stable. In terms of psychosocial health, 48.5 percent are still in trauma in comparison to 12.5 percent survivors last year. Read: Rana Plaza victims get support from Brac amid Covid-19 Currently 31 percent reported that they are more or less stable, and 20.5 percent have recovered fully compared to 25.5 percent last year. These findings were revealed in a survey conducted among 200 survivors ahead of the 9th anniversary of Rana Plaza tragedy. The current unemployment rate of the survivors is 53 percent while 47 percent survivors are engaged in various types of wage and self-employment. Among them, 67 percent of survivors are unemployed due to their physical condition and 10 percent have mental trauma. Survivors tend to change work frequently as their physical conditions do not allow them to work for long-periods at a time. According to the survey, 14.5 percent survivors have returned to garments with another 8 percent involved in tailoring while many of the survivors shifted to other pr-ofessions like domestic work, day labour, farming, and agriculture, sales and driving. The survey found that income of most of the employed survivors have drastically decreased due the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. A large proportion, 63.5 percent, of survivors said they had difficulty to buy food for their family in everyday during pandemic because they did not have the money to buy food. Read: Rana Plaza murder case: Trial begins 5 years after charge framing Over half, or 51.5 percent, said they couldn't pay their rent, and 22.5 percent said they couldn't afford childcare. Nearly half, at 46.5 percent, of survivors had to take out a loan to manage their family's food and other expenses during the pandemic. A total of 36 percent said their household income is less than Tk 5,000 while 34 percent have a household income between Tk 10,000- 15,000. Some 35 percent of survivors reported that their monthly expenditure is over Tk 10,000, and 30 percent have above Tk 15,000 with major costs incurred for food, followed by house-rent, children’s education, and treatment.

Trial in the murder case filed over Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 began officially on Monday by recording statements of the witnesses. On July 18, 2016, Dhaka District and Session Court Judge SM Kuddus Zaman framed charges against the accused and passed an order to begin the trial. But it got barred as most of the accused appealed to the higher court challenging legality of the order. On Monday after clearing the appeals, District and Session Court Judge AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan recorded the statement of plaintiff, then Sub-Inspector of Savar police station Wali Ashraf. The court set February 16 to record the statements next. Also read: 57pc Rana Plaza survivors remain unemployed: Survey Prime accused in the case, owner of Rana Plaza Sohel Rana is currently in jail while 40 others are on bail. According to the case statement, On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, an illegally-constructed building in Savar which housed five garment factories, came down crashing upon 5,500 workers. Bodies of 1,138 people were recovered in the incident while over 2,000 others suffered injuries and got paralysed.  Over the tragic incident then SI of Savar police station Wali Ashraf filed a murder case accusing the owner and others of dereliction and negligence in building construction. On June 1, 2015, Assistant Superintendent of Crime Investigation Department (CID) of police Bijoy Krishna Kar submitted charge sheet in the case against 41 people including the building owner Sohel Rana. A total of 594 people were made witnesses in this case. Also read: HC issues rule on why Rana Plaza owner should not get bail Some other significant accused in the case are- Rana’s father Abdul Khaleque, Rana’s mother Morzina Begum, ATM Masud Reza, Assistant Professor(Architecture) of Khulna University, engineer Sazzd Hossain, Md Refatullah, Mayor of Savar Municipality, Uttam Kumar Roy, former executive officer of Savar Municipality, executive engineer Rafiqul Islam, former assistant engineer Mahbubur Rahman, former deputy-assistant engineer Rakibul Hasan Russel, former town planner Farzana Islam, license inspector Md Abdul Mottalib, former secretary of the municipality Morzina Khan, former secretary Md Abul Bashar, Md Aminul Islam, Chairman of Phantom Apparels Ltd, Bajlul Samad, MD of New Wave Bottoms Ltd, Md Anisur Rahman, Chairman of Ether Tex Ltd.

Dhaka, Apr 24 (UNB) - The 8th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, the worst-ever tragedy in the country’s multi-billion-dollar ready-made garment (RMG) industry, is being observed on Saturday amid the coronavirus pandemic. This year, there will be no outdoor programmes to recall the victims due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Read Why Rana Plaza owner’s bail shouldn’t be stayed, asks HC Different right bodies, worker organisations and left-leaning political parties, including Rana Plaza Survivors’ Association, usually arrange various programmes every year, remembering the tragedy. On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, an illegally-constructed building in Savar which housed five garment factories, came down crashing, killing 1,138 people and injuring over 2,000 others. According to the survey conducted by ActionAid Bangladesh, the physical health condition of 14 percent of survivors is getting worse. Also read: 57pc Rana Plaza survivors remain unemployed: Survey Among them, 58.5 percent are more or less stable, and 27.5 percent are completely stable. Most of the 14 percent survivors reported that they are still bearing a headache, pain in hand and leg and back pain. In terms of psychosocial health, 12.5 percent are still in trauma in comparison to 10.5 percent survivors last year. Currently, 62 percent reported that they are more or less stable, and 25.5 percent have recovered fully compared to 21 percent last year. A total of 4.5 percent more survivors have improved their mental health than last year. Also read: HC issues rule on why Rana Plaza owner should not get bail These findings were disclosed in a virtual dialogue titled ‘COVID-19: Challenges for the Rana Plaza Tragedy Survivors’ on April 22 organised by ActionAid Bangladesh in memory of the 8th year of Rana Plaza tragedy. The survey was conducted among 200 survivors of the Rana Plaza collapse.

Nearly 57 percent of the survivors of Rana Plaza have remained unemployed, according to a survey. Besides, 43 percent of the other survivors have to make a living by changing their work from time to time due to deteriorating physical condition. Rana Plaza is the deadliest industrial disaster in Bangladesh that left more than 1,100 people, mostly RMG workers, dead in 2013. According to the survey conducted by ActionAid Bangladesh, the physical health condition of 14 percent survivor is getting worse. Among them, 58.5 percent are more or less stable, and 27.5 percent are completely stable. Most of the 14 percent survivors reported that they are still bearing with headache, pain in hand and leg and back pain. In terms of psychosocial health, 12.5 percent are still in trauma in comparison to 10.5 percent survivors last year. Currently 62 percent reported that they are more or less stable, and 25.5 percent have recovered fully compared to 21 percent last year. A total of 4.5 percent more survivors have improved their mental health than last year. These findings were disclosed in a virtual dialogue titled ‘COVID-19: Challenges for the Rana Plaza Tragedy Survivors’ on Thursday organised by ActionAid Bangladesh in memory of the 8th year of Rana Plaza tragedy. The survey was conducted among 200 survivors of Rana Plaza collapse. Also read: HC issues rule on why Rana Plaza owner should not get bail According to the survey, 43 percent survivors are engaged in various types of wage and self-employment. However, due to the deteriorating physical condition, they have to make a living by changing their work from time to time. The 12 percent survivors have returned to garments with another 12 percent involved in tailoring. In most households, there is only a single earner whose income is reduced due to the outbreak of COVID-19. A total of 37.5 percent said their household income is between Tk5,001 – 10,300 while 29.5 percent have a household income between Tk10,300 - 15,300. Majority of survivors have an average expenditure of over Tk10,000 with major costs incurred for food, followed by house-rent, children’s education and treatment. Around 67 percent participants said that the factories are maintaining the guided procedures when they enter into and stay during the working hour while 33 percent participants expressed that the factories are not offering guided measurements in rolling out safe health and hygiene at the workplace. Member of Parliament Shirin Akhter stated that, “We have labour laws in our country. If that law is implemented properly, it is possible to gain some benefits to the workers. As well as compensation laws needs to be enacted. Creating an emergency fund makes it easier to get temporary relief from dangers like the Rana Plaza tragedy.” Also read: 7th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse today She said trade unions, employers and the government can work together to create a good working environment, transparency, and accountability in the factories. “If we can confirm all these things, we can say that we’ve been able to bring positive changes by learning from the horrors of the Rana Plaza incident,” she also added. Shirin Akhter called on the trade unions to negotiate with the RMG owners to see if the incentive announced by the government during COVID-19 is properly allotted to the workers. She also requested the employers to arrange rations for the workers. Country Director of ActionAid Bangladesh s Farah Kabir moderated the function. She said even in eight years, the condition of significant surviving workers is not satisfactory. But the workers are called the oxygen of the economy and development of the country. “We’ve to come out of the colonial mentality and fulfill the just demands of the workers. Accidents could happen again at any time like Rana Plaza collapse. That is why everyone should be made aware about insurance schemes, self-development skills or special fund formation and emergency activities,” she added. The Country Director of ILO Country Office for Bangladesh Tuomo Poutiainen said there is a requirement to improve security and governance on labour issues, and this needs institutional change. “We’ve to create a culture of health safety for workers in factories and the government needs to enact legislation to ensure this.’ Also read: Rana Plaza volunteer dies after ‘setting himself on fire’ in Savar He called for a new way of thinking about social security during COVID-19.  And for that Tuomo Poutiainen spoke of creating new jobs by increasing investment in collaboration with the government, industry and workers. Research Director of Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Khondokar Golam Moazzem said since the Rana Plaza collapse, there has been no positive change in the victims’ lives. Despite some financial assistance, the process of reintegration of injured workers in the formal sector has not been introduced; they have to be brought under reintegration process. He called for the distribution of free health cards from the Rana Plaza Trust Fund at the upazila level to ensure the medical treatment of the injured workers who have returned to their village homes. He also proposed for the provision of health insurance for the surviving injured workers. Dr Hameeda Hossain, Convener, Sramik Nirapotta Forum (SNF) called for ensuring the safety of workers by implementing safety committees and insurance schemes. General Secretary of Somajtantrik Sramik Front Rajekuzzaman Ratan said on an average, about 1,000 workers die in various accidents in our country every year. The National Social Security Project needs to be implemented to ensure security. People should not lose their lives.

The High Court (HC) on Monday issued a rule seeking explanation as to why Sohel Rana, the owner of the ill-fated Rana Plaza that collapsed in the deadliest incident ever in the history of  should not get bail in a murder case filed over Rana Plaza tragedy that had claimed 1,134 lives.

The High Court on Monday issued a rule asking why the bail of Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana in a case filed over illegally amassing wealth should not be cancelled.

The 7th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, the worst-ever tragedy in the country’s multi-billion dollar ready-made garment (RMG) industry, is being observed on Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic.   This year, there will be no outdoor programmes to recall the victims due to outbreak of coronavirus.   Different right bodies, worker organisations and left-leaning political parties, including Rana Plaza Survivors’ Association, usually arrange various programmes every year, remembering the tragedy.   This year, the leaders of 25 workers’ organizations in Savar have urged people to observe the day at home.   Savar Upazila Assistant Commissioner (land) Abdullah Al Mahfuz  lit candles at the Rana Plaza spot  on Thursday evening in memory of the victims.   On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, an illegally-constructed building in Savar which housed five garment factories, came down crashing, killing, 1,138 people and injuring over 2,000 others.