The owner of a garment factory in Bangladesh, has been found guilty of corruption and heavy loss of life. The owner of a garment factory Sohel Rana has been sentenced for three years of imprisonment and failed to declare his personal wealth to the anti-graft commission to Bangladesh. Rana also faces charges of murder in the infamous Rana Plaza disaster.
The disaster had claimed lives of more than 1,100 people near Dhaka, Bangladesh and about 2,500 were rescued with serious injuries. The incident had marked as one of the worst industrial disasters in the history of Bangladesh and led to a wide spread criticism of global retail practices. Factories in Bangladesh are known for providing chap clothing to some of the major western countries, which benefits from the low-cost labour in the country.
Rana along with 17 others have been accused of breaching the building codes and adding three more floors to the original six storey building. Some of the survivors of the factory said that they were forced to enter the factory despite complaining about the cracks on the walls. Reports say that Rana was arrested several days post the accident as he had then tried to flee to India.
After the incident, Sohel Rana had become the number one enemy of the public . Rana’s lawyer, Faruque Ahmed said that he would appeal to the verdictand added, “He was in custody when he was served the Anti Corruption Commission notice to submit his wealth statement. In the jail he was not given enough time to meet his lawyer or his family”. The disaster had led to some major reforms in the garment sector which included safety precautions and higher wages in the industry that employs more than four million workers and are mostly women. The verdict by the Bangladesh court saw the activists rejoice and have urged a trial for fast-track court for his murder trial.
Photo Credits: Yahoo
