Rana Plaza graft case reopens for arguments

A Dhaka court on Tuesday withdrew the Rana Plaza corruption case against its owner Sohel Rana and seven others from the verdict list and fixed 6 October for further arguments.
The verdict was scheduled to be delivered by Dhaka Divisional Special Judge BM Tariqul Kabir. 
Ariful Islam, bench assistant of the court, confirmed the development, saying the case was withdrawn from the list of cases scheduled for verdict and a date was fixed for further arguments. The court passed the order suo motu, he said.
Court sources said 16 August had initially been fixed for the verdict, but the date was deferred to 1 September as the verdict was not ready.
The other accused are former Savar Municipality mayor Refat Ullah, former CEO Uttam Kumar Roy, executive engineer Rafiqul Islam, former assistant engineer Mahbubur Rahman, former sub-assistant engineer Rakibul Hasan Russell, former town planner Farzana Islam and licence inspector Md Abdul Motaleb.
The eight-storey Rana Plaza collapsed near Savar bus stand on 24 April 2013, killing 1,135 people and injuring more than 1,000.
The ACC filed the case on 15 June 2014 over alleged irregularities in the building’s construction. Five garment factories were allegedly allowed to operate there although the building had initially been approved as a shopping complex.