DHAKA: Bangladeshi police on Monday charged 41 people including the owner of the Rana Plaza factory complex with murder after the building collapsed killing more than 1,100 people in 2013.

A court in Dhaka formally accepted charges against Sohel Rana, 35, and the others in connection with the country’s worst ever industrial disaster.

“We’ve charged 41 people including the owner of the building, Sohel Rana, with murder over the collapse of Rana Plaza in April 2013,” lead investigator Bijoy Krishna Kar said, adding that all face the death penalty if convicted.

Among those charged are seven owners of factories housed in the complex and 12 government officials responsible for safety and inspections. Rana’s parents, who jointly owned the building with him, and the mayor and councillor of the town where it was located, were also charged with murder.

Police asked the court to issue arrest warrants for 25 people including six government officials after they absconded.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2015

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