The High Court on Thursday granted bail to Sohel Rana, owner of eight-storey Rana Plaza, in the case filed for the murders and maiming of people due to building collapse on April 24, 2013.
The building came crashing down leaving at least 1,136 dead and about 2,000 injured.
The bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Mohammad Ali granted the bail in the murder case filed against 42 people.
It disposed of a rule asking the government to explain why Sohel Rana should not be granted bail.
The murder case had remained pending trial with the Dhaka District and Sessions Judges’ Court since December 2016.
Sohel Rana’s lawyer and Awami League leader Md Qamrul Islam told New Age that there was no bar to his release as he was earlier granted bail in all five cases filed against him.
Qamrul, however, said that Sohel could be freed on bail unless the government filed an appeal and the Appellate Division stayed his bail following the appeal.
Deputy attorney general Mohiuddin Dewan, who opposed the bail, said that the government would appeal against the bail order.
A wave of shock spread across the world in the morning of April 24, 2013, when the eight-storey Rana Plaza, which housed clothing factories, a shopping mall and a bank, collapsed.
There is also no progress in trial of three criminal cases against 42 people, including the owners of Rana Plaza building and five clothing factories, as well as local representatives and engineers in connection with the collapse of Rana Plaza in Savar.
Of the three cases, one was filed against 42 people for the murders and maiming in the building collapse, which was pending with the Dhaka District and Sessions Judges’ Court since December 2016 for beginning trial with recording depositions of witnesses.
The second case relating to illegal construction of the Rana Plaza and extending its floors from five to eight was filed against 18 people, who were accused in the murder case, and was pending with the Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Court since June 2016.
The third case relating to corruption of the 18 accused in both the murder and building code violation cases is pending with the Dhaka Divisional Special Judge’s Court.
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case against the 18 people including Savar municipality mayor, its councilors and engineers as well as the owners of building and five clothing factories for misconduct with the government servants and for abetting to corruption.
Sohel Rana was sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment for not submitting wealth statement to the ACC and possessing illegal arms.
His lawyer Qamrul Islam said that Sohel Rana served his jail terms.
Former leader of Savar unit Chhatra League Sohel Rana, his parents Abdul Khaleque and Marjina Begum are owners of the Rana Plaza.
Except Sohel Rana, most of the 42 accused were out of the jail on bail, his lawyer said.
Sohel was arrested at Beanpole border on April 29, 2013 as he was trying to flee to India five days after the Rana plaza collapse killed so many people and left many more critically injured in the country’s biggest ever factory disaster that drew headlines across the world.
