Bangladesh court accepts homicide charge against 13 over deadly factory fire‏

A court in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka Tuesday gave a go-ahead for the trial of 13 people including the owner of a garment factory in a case filed for a late 2012 devastating fire that left 112 dead.
On Dec. 22 charges were pressed against the owner of the garment factory, Delwar Hossain, and 12 others as officials over a year after the horrendous tragedy wrapped up an investigation.
In one of the worst tragedies in Bangladesh’s history in November 2012, at least 112 workers of the factory at Ashulia on the outskirts of capital Dhaka were killed.
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 global brands including U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart were manufactured.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Wasim Sheikh Tuesday took into cognizance the charges brought against the people, who are accused of breaching construction rules including building staircases that were too narrow and unsafe, reports Xinhua.
They have been charged with homicide and death 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 AKM Mohsinuzzaman Khan had earlier said that 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 worst ever industrial tragedy at an apparel hub on outskirts of the capital where five factories housed in a 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 provide safe working conditions in Bangladesh’s annually about 22 billion U.S. dollars export sector, which comprises about 5,000 factories employing more than 4 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 labor. But the industry has been widely criticized for low pay and limited rights given to workers and for the often dangerous working conditions in garment factories.