11 years of Tazreen Fashions fire: Trial progresses at snail’s pace

The trial in the case filed over the devastating fire at the factory of Tazreen Fashions Ltd is progressing at a snail's pace as today marks 11 years of the incident in Ashulia of Gazipur.

On 24 November 2012, 117 garment workers were killed and more than 200 others injured in a massive fire at the factory in Nishchintapur of Ashulia. 

Only 11 out of total 104 witnesses have testified in the case since the court ordered trial in the case by framing charges against the accused, including the factory's Managing Director Delwar Hossain on 3 September 2015. 

In these eight years, the state produced witnesses in court on only eight days out of a total 56 dates of hearing. The deferment of hearing is due to the state's failure to produce witnesses for testimony.

According to court sources, four days of hearing have been scheduled this year. But the state counsel has failed to produce the witnesses.

"As all the witnesses are not available, the hearing of the criminal case related to the fire is getting delayed time and again," said Sifat-E-Nur Khanam, senior staff lawyer of BLAST.

She added that the next date of hearing in the case is 25 March next year.

Labour leader Nazma Akhter alleged that the cases filed over the Tazreen Fashions fire have been kept hanging for years on the excuse of "unavailability of witnesses" only to divert attention from the case.

The last date of hearing in the case was 1 November. It was later deferred to 25 March as the witnesses did not appear on that day as well.

Tazreen Fashions owner Delwar Hossain, also the managing director of Toba Group, who walked out of jail on bail in the case in 2018, is now involved in the politics of Awami Matsyajibi League.