Bangladesh court accepts homicide charge over factory fire

A court in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka Tuesday gave the go-ahead for the trial of 13 people, including the owner of a garment factory, in a case filed in connection with a late 2012 devastating fire that left 112 people dead.

The charges were pressed against the owner of the garment factory, Delwar Hossain, and 12 others Dec 22 as officials wrapped up an investigation over a year after the horrendous tragedy.

In one of the worst tragedies in Bangladesh's history, at least 112 workers of the factory at Ashulia on the outskirts of capital Dhaka were killed in November 2012.

Dozens of workers also sustained injuries as the Nov 24 devastating fire, claimed to be "an act of sabotage", raged through the eight-storey Tazreen Fashion Limited, where garments of global brands, including US retail giant Wal-Mart, were manufactured.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Wasim Sheikh Tuesday took into cognizance the charges brought against the accused, who are charged with breaching construction rules, including building staircases that were too narrow and unsafe, Xinhua reported.

They were charged with homicide and death caused by negligence.

The court has issued arrest warrants against Hossain, his wife Mahmuda Akter, chairman of Tazreen, and four others who were shown as fugitives in the charge sheet.

Investigation Officer A.K.M. Mohsinuzzaman Khan had earlier said the accused could face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment or minimum seven years in jail.

In Bangladesh, factory owners are rarely charged over such tragedies. Analysts say tragic incidents continue to occur in Bangladesh as most of the time culprits go unpunished.

The Tazreen fire incident was dwarfed by another industrial tragedy at an apparel hub on the outskirts of the capital where five factories housed in an eight-storey building collapsed on April 24 this year, leaving at least 1,130 people dead.

The tragedies revived questions about the commitments of factory owners and their global buyers to providing safe working conditions in Bangladesh's annually $22 billion export sector, which comprises about 5,000 factories employing more than four million workers, 80 percent of whom are women.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers that benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

But the industry has been widely criticized for low pay and limited rights given to workers and for the often dangerous working conditions in factories.