Sajeeb Group owner Hashem suspects workers’ negligence

A fire can occur if a factory is operational, said Sajeeb Group Chairman Md Abul Hashem, after 52 workers were killed in a massive fire at the six-storey food factory building in Naryanganj's Rupganj.

"Operating an industry was the biggest mistake in my life because an industry requires workers and when there are workers they will work. And fire can occur during the work. Is it my responsibility?

I never triggered the fire myself, not even the manager as well," Hashem said.

Abul Hashem pointed fingers at the workers for the blaze, saying their negligence might have caused the fire.

He suspected some workers might have lit cigarettes which triggered the flame.

He also said those who are demonstrating in front of the factory are not workers, but outsiders.

Hashem said around 600-700 workers work in seven buildings of the factory and the fire occurred in only one of the buildings.

Remarking on the number of workers, he said it was difficult to confirm how many workers were in the affected building as many units were closed.

The ground floor of the building had many flammable substances which might have caused the high intensity of the fire, he said, adding that "Cartons that were kept on the ground floor might have spread the fire as the upper floors only contained machines and equipment."

Asked if he visited the spot, he said, "I never went there but my people are there. Those who were killed are my sons and daughters. The incident has broken me.

"I will try my best to remain beside my children [workers] as it was an accident," he said, adding, "There were a small number of workers as all units were not operating."

He also claimed that there were adequate numbers of fire extinguishers at the factory.

Md Abul Hashem' Sajeeb Group owns a number of food and beverage brands including Shezan Mango Drinks.

Hashem expanded his business gradually over the last three decades, following his father's example of running a business successfully.

His father Ibrahim Mia came from their ancestral home in Noakhali to live in Laxmipur. He started a bidi company named "Aziz Bidi" in the Chandraganj area of Laxmipur before the country was liberated, said the local people of Laxmipur.

After independence, gradually they started to expand their business. Aziz Bidi was very popular among the working class in the greater Noakhali and Bhola districts in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Hashem started diversifying his family business from the early 1980s. Currently, Sajeeb Group is a large organisation, which owns a number of companies including Sajeeb Corporation, Hashem Foods Limited, Hashem Auto Rice mills, Sajeeb Food and Beverage Ltd, Hashem Agro Processing Limited, Takaful Islami Insurance Ltd, Hashem Flour Mills Ltd, Sajeeb Homes Limited, MARS International, Sajeeb Logistics, Savvy Foods.

In addition to food and beverage, Hashem also ventured into insurance and logistics businesses.

He is also the owner of Shezan Point at Farmgate in the capital. Their office is also in this building. 

Hashem runs the businesses himself along with his three sons and one daughter.

He contested in Laxmipur Sadar constituency in the 2008 election with a nomination from Awami League. However, after losing to the BNP candidate that year, he reduced maintaining communication with the area. He has a rice mill called Hashem Auto there, but he has not been visiting the area much recently. 

Currently he has businesses in Dhaka, Narayanganj and surrounding areas.

According to Sajeeb Group's website, the company also exports a number of food and beverages.