COMPENSATION TO TAZREEN FIRE VICTIMS
HC asks for reports by July 28
The High Court on Sunday issued a fresh order asking the labour ministry and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association secretary to submit by July 28 their reports on compensations given to the workers injured and the families of the workers killed in a
fire at Tazreen Fashions Limited at Ashulia in Savar.The court also directed the officer-in-charge of Ashulia police station to arrange collection of DNA samples of the family members of 37 dead workers who could not be identified, and submit a report by July 28.
The bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain passed the order as deputy attorney general Biswajit Roy sought time to file the reports.
The court asked Biswajit Roy to inform the authorities that it would take stern action if they failed to comply with its June 9 order regarding DNA tests and the June 19 order on compensations by July 28.
Supreme Court lawyers MI Farooqui and Jyotirmoy Barua prayed to the court for starting hearing on the rule issued earlier on the government and the police asking them why they should not be directed to arrest Tazreen managing director Md Delwar Hossain as the government’s probe report recommended his prosecution.
The court said the hearing would be held after it received all compliance reports.
Delaw Hossain was asked to be present before the court again on July 28.
Meanwhile, Shah Alam, the brother of Shila who was killed in the Tazreen fire, told reporters at the High Court that the Criminal Investigation Department had not collected sample from him for DNA test though he was called by the CID to do so Sunday.
Shah Alam said he had come to the CID office in the capital from Chandpur, adding that the CID’s senior superintendent Munsur Ali Mandal had summoned him in line with the HC order.
The CID is investigating the case filed against unidentified persons for the deadly Tazreen fire that had killed 112 workers and injured scores on November 24, 2012.
On June 19, deputy attorney general Biswajit Roy, after being reprimanded by the court several times, submitted the report of the committee formed by the government to probe the Tazreen blaze.
The probe committee headed by an additional home secretary had submitted the report to the home secretary on December 17, 2012 recommending the arrest and prosecution of the factory owner and managing director Md Delwar Hossain on charge of causing death of the workers by negligence.
The report, a copy of which is available with New Age, also recommended prosecution of nine others, including Delwar’s wife who is also Tazreen Fashions Limited director, its manager M Abdur Razzaq, production manager M Mobarak Hossain Manju, quality manager M Shahiduzzaman Dulal, assistant production manager M Sohel Rana, assistant general manager Harun Or Rashid, security-in-charge Al Amin and engineer M Mahbubul Morshed on the same charge.
Submitting the probe report, Biswajit requested the court not to read it out in public as ‘it was very confidential’.
After hearing a writ petition filed by anthropologists Naznin Akhter Banu, Saydia Gulrukh Kamal and Mahmudul Hasan Sumon, the High Court on May 19 had asked home secretary and the inspector general of police to explain why they should not be directed to initiate action against Delwar, who was yet to be arrested although the government’s probe committee recommended his prosecution.
It had also asked Delwar to explain why he should not be directed to give adequate compensation to the fire victims.
-With New Age input
