ACC to press charges gainst 18 people

The ACC has decided to file charge sheet against 18 people and acquitted seven accused from the FR Tower case.
According to a press release issued by the ACC, the 18 accused had violated the Building Construction Code 1996 through fraud, forgery and abuse of power.
"The accused did not collect clearance on behalf of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and also did not approve the building design," the statement also stated and added, "That is why the ACC has approved the charge sheet under Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947."
On the other hand, ACC could not prove allegation against seven accused during the investigation and acquitted them from the case.
The accused are the FR Tower lessee SMHI Farooq, Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd Chairman Liaquat Ali Khan Mukul, Qasim Industrialist Ltd managing director Tasvir-ul-Islam.Besides, the rest against whom the charge sheet has been issued are all RAJUK officials and employees.
They are Rajuk building inspector Nazrul Islam, Director (Estate) Shamsul Alam, former Deputy Director (Estate) Muhammad Shawkat Ali, Former Assistant Director (Estate) Shah Sadrul Alam and former Director (Estate) Abdullah-al-Baki.
Among the other accused are former Superintendent (Estate) Jahanara Begum, former Inspector Meheduzzaman, assistant cum printer Muhammad Mojibur Rahman Mollah, office assistant cum computer operator Enamul Haque.
There are also former caretaker Mofazzal Hossain, senior assistant Saiful Alam, Building inspector Marul Kabir and Md Shawkat Ali, senior assistant Shafiullah and former authorized officer Shafiqul Islam.
The FR Tower caught fire on March 28 in 2019. The incident left 25 people dead and 73 others injured.
On June 25 the same year, the ACC filed two cases against 23 people for their alleged involvement in illegally extending Banani's FR Tower beyond the permitted number of floors.
During investigation, the anti-graft body found that the 23-storied FR Tower had narrow exit points and staircases, and no fire alarm, while the fire exits were blocked.
The building authorities had legally obtained permission for a 15-storey building but they illegally added eight more floors over time.