A legal notice has been sent to the authorities seeking the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the Bailey Road fire incident, which resulted in 46 deaths, and seeking Tk5 crore compensation for each of the victims.
Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Md Solaiman Tushar sent this notice by mail on Sunday.
Secretaries to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Public Works, director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence, chairman of Rajuk and Dhaka district commissioner have been made respondents to the notice.
The notice recipients are asked to inform the notifier in writing within five days what effective measures have been taken.
However, if they fail to take adequate measures regarding these issues, legal actions will be taken, including filing a writ in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, as mentioned in the notice.
Illegal business operation
The notice says that the media extensively covered the fire incident and says the building, where the fire broke out, was not authorized to operate a restaurant.
Furthermore, it lacked a fire safety system. The building was originally constructed as a residential complex, but there was no approval for operating restaurants there.
Ignored 3 notice warnings
Despite issuing three warning notices to the building authorities, no effective action was taken. The building was not declared abandoned.
Thus, the authorities are responsible and failed in their duties. The authorities can not evade their responsibility in any way, the notice added.
Demand compensation
The notice points out that according to Article 32 of the Constitution, everyone has the right to life and personal liberty.
Article 36 states that every citizen has the right to move freely. The incident occurred due to the authorities' failure to declare the risky building abandoned and take appropriate measures.
The authorities can not evade their responsibility in any way. Therefore, they demand the formation of a judicial commission to find out whose failure led to this fire incident.
Additionally, demand compensation of Tk5 crore for each of the victims and injured identified in this devastating fire incident.
At least 46 people were killed, and over 20 others sustained severe injuries by the devastating fire on Thursday night. Firefighters rescued 70 people, including 42 in unconscious state, from the rooftop and different floors of the seven-storey Green Cozy Cottage. A case was filed by police on Friday night.
