Arrest sparks clashes amid Dhaka rescue
By Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
DHAKA - The weekend arrest of Mohammad Sohel Rana, owner of the Rana Plaza, the factory building on the outskirts of Dhaka that collapsed on Wednesday and has so far resulted in the deaths of at least 398 people, has brought some sense of closure for apparel workers. Rana had been on the run since the building fell down.
As rescuers continue trying to pull survivors out of the rubble of the eight-story building, which contained several garment factories, family members of the nearly 700 workers still missing amid the rubble demonstrated at the disaster site in the Dhaka suburb of Savar. Some 2,437 people were injured in the collapse. Clashes took place between police and workers on Narayanganj
and Gazipur highway on Monday as the workers demanded the death of the well-connected businessman.
Rana, whose political connections span the country's main parties, was arrested on Sunday by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) near the Benapole border of Bangladesh with India following a manhunt.
Rana, after being produced before the media, said that owners of the clothing factories had forced him to allow them to enter the building for work at the factories despite signs that the building was unsafe as "their shipments would otherwise be cancelled".
The collapse and previous factory disasters have highlighted the poor working conditions in Bangladesh garment factories, which produce clothing for top international brands. It was the deadliest tragedy in an industry that is worth US$20 billion annually. As the second phase of the rescue continues at Savar, clashes between workers and police are being reported from adjoining areas as workers and loved ones demand at least the recovery of the bodies of these deceased.
News of Rana's arrest came thorough the electronic media on Sunday afternoon, just as the Bangladesh Army was preparing to initiate the second phase of rescue last night at the collapsed building. The announcement was also made by loudspeaker at the site, where people cheered and clapped.
RAB director General Mokhlesur Rahman told reporters at a Sunday evening press conference that Rana, who has been accused of two offenses, was arrested as he was trying to flee to India. A battalion intelligence team that had flown to Benapole in a helicopter arrested Rana at a house at Ballfield, Benapole, with the help of a local battalion team. They also arrested Shah Alam Mithu and Anil Kumar, who were said to have given him shelter and were helping him to flee, Mokhlesur said.
On Wednesday following the Rana Plaza collapse, a case was filed against Rana by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), Bangladesh's city development authority, for breaching the Building Construction Act and building code. Another case was filed by Savar police on the same night against Rana, his father Abdul Khalek and the owners of the clothing factories for causing loss of life and damage.
Mokhlesur said that besides being arrested for the two cases, more cases would be filed against Rana in connection with the people being killed in the building collapse as he had forced the apparel workers to join work at five factories housed in the building where cracks had been spotted the previous day.
On Saturday, left-leaning parties called a nationwide strike for May 2 demanding the arrests of those responsible for the disaster. On the same day, the 18-party opposition also called a strike on May 2 to protest the disaster and press the arrests of those responsible.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday visited the injured at Combined Military Hospital and Enam Medical College and Hospital, besides visiting the rescue site. She urged political parties to withdraw general strikes on "humanitarian grounds" as the rescue operation was one of the worst industrial disasters in the country's history.
State Minister for Home Advocate Shamsul Haque Tuku, at the collapse site on Monday morning, told the press that the second phase of work, initiated on Sunday night with heavy cranes and equipment to move rubble and debris, was proceeding at "a slow pace" to accommodate the "rescue of anyone still alive inside" and also to recover more bodies.
Rescue workers and locals managed to stall the involvement of heavy equipment as it was anticipated that four workers were still alive. Later, of the four, only one garment worker, Shahinoor, was seen to be breathing. On Sunday, when rescue workers tried to bring Shahinoor out, a fire broke out in the tunnel, killing her and injuring five people.
Many of the workers who were fortunate to have been rescued earlier are likely to be crippled for life, as most of them had to have their arms or legs sawn off during the rescue process, as beams and large rubble pinned them down.
On the run
Tuku has stressed that building owner Rana has been arrested on remand. "His accomplices will also get equal punishments if proven guilty of helping him," said Tuku.
The Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested two engineers of the Savar municipality in connection to building collapse on Saturday afternoon, and that evening arrested Aminul Islam, owner of Phantom Apparel Ltd and Phantom Tac Ltd.
Several executives of companies linked to factories in the building have also been arrrested. The Detective Branch on Sunday night arrested Anisur Rahman, chairman of Ether Tex Ltd, owner of one of the five clothing factories housed in Rana Plaza, after Rahman went to offices of the main industry body, the Bangladesh Garment Manufactures & Exporters Association, to surrender. On Friday, the police arrested another factory boss, New Wave Bottoms chairman Bazlus Samad Adnan, and the company managing director, Mahmudur Rahman Tapas.
The RAB told the media that Rana hid in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, on Wednesday and Thursday, and moved houses at least three times four times before reaching Benapole, where he was arrested on Sunday, according to RAB. Rana was then flown back to Dhaka by helicopter.
In addition to other charges, a case under the Narcotics Control Act will be filed against Rana, the RAB said, as it had seized two bottles of Phensedyl (codeine syrup) kept in his briefcase.
Rana said on Sunday that he was a leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (the student front of the ruling Bangladesh Awami League), a secretary and then joint convenor of the Savar unit of the Juba League, the Awami League's youth front. This statement from Rana contradicts earlier claims by the prime minister and other members of her party that he is not a ruling party activist.
Syed Tashfin Chowdhury is the Editor of Xtra, the weekend magazine of New Age, in Bangladesh.
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