Owner of Rana Plaza among 41 indicted in Bangladesh building collapse case of 2013

A Dhaka court on Monday indicted 41 persons, including Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana and his parents, for murder over the collapse of the building in 2013 killing at least 1,136 garment workers.

Dhaka District and Session Judges' Court Judge S M Kuddus Zaman passed the order in the case.

The court fixed September 18 to start the trial, The Daily Star reported.

Owner Sohel Rana and 33 other accused who were present at the court pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out to them.

Of the accused, Rana and six others are in jail while seven others are on the run and 27 are on bail.

The accused persons include: Rana's parents, owners of four factories, the mayor of Savar municipality and 14 government officials.

On June 1, 2015, The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted the case charge sheet accusing the 41 people involved in the incident, The Daily Star reported.

The city development authority, RAJUK, filed another case against 13 people, including Rana, with Savar police, charging them with flouting the Bangladesh National Building Code, bdnews24 reported.

Another Dhaka court on April 28 took the charges into cognizance against the 41 people.

At least 1,136 people, mostly garment workers, were killed and more than 2,500 injured when the Rana Plaza collapsed in Savar on April 24, 2013.

The incident turned the world's focus on the poor and unsafe working condition in factories in Bangladesh, the second largest exporter of Ready-Made Garment products.