Her spine and back are broken. She can no longer stand up straight and struggles to walk. Nilufa Yasmin dreamed of changing her life by working as a garment worker.
Thirteen years ago, her life came to a halt when the Rana Plaza building collapsed.
“Due to being unwell for a long time, I can’t even get a decent job. I make ends meet by doing cooking work in a house,” she said.
Every year, in April, and more specifically on the 24th of this month, the pain within Nilufa intensifies.
Thirteen years ago, on this very day in 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Savar collapsed. Over a thousand garment workers from several floors of the building lost their lives. Countless workers, like Nilufa, were left unable to work.
Nilufa, aged 30 at the time, suffered severe injuries to her spine and back in the collapse. Now, at 43, the pain is even more unbearable. Her husband has left her.
“I got neither justice nor help. My life ended while I was still receiving treatment. Now, no one even checks on me,” she laments to TIMES of Bangladesh.
Jesmin Akter, another survivor of the incident, was also injured in the collapse. She suffered a head injury from blood clots and had her right leg broken under the rubble. Her left lung was damaged as well.
Four months after the accident, her husband left her. During this time, she gave birth to a child, who is now 12 years old. However, she has not been able to provide for her child’s future.
“I have no ability to work. I’m bedridden. I am a living corpse. I beg for help from people,” she said.
When will justice be served?
A total of 1,136 garment workers lost their lives in the incident. In response, the police filed a murder case, and the Appellate Division directed the concerned court to resolve the case within six months by January 15, 2024. However, even after 26 months, the case is yet to be resolved. The case is still in the evidence-gathering phase.
Another case under the building construction law is also pending. Not a single witness has given testimony yet. The state prosecution does not know when the trial will conclude.
Faisal Mahmud, additional public prosecutor at the Dhaka District and Sessions Judge Court, said, “Out of the 594 witnesses in the murder case, 145 have testified. We hope that the trial will be completed and the verdict announced by the end of this year.”
Masud Khan Khokon, lawyer for the defendant Sohel Rana, said, “The witnesses are never ending. My client has been in jail for 13 years. If he is proven innocent, who will return those 13 years to him?”
The murder case is being heard at the 8th Additional District and Sessions Judge Court in Dhaka. The next hearing for witness testimony is scheduled for 30 April.
The case under the Building Construction Law is being heard at the Additional Judicial Magistrate Court in Dhaka, with testimony scheduled for 30 September.
However, the Assistant Public Prosecutor Ishtiaq Hossain Jipu told TIMES, “Although non-bailable warrants have been issued against the witnesses, they cannot be brought to court.”
In the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse, the police submitted charges against Sohel Rana, the building owner, and 41 others on 26 April, 2015. Among the accused, four have died. Of the remaining, 25 are on bail, and 11 are absconding. The only accused in jail is Sohel Rana.
On 18 July, 2016, SM Quddus Zaman, district and sessions judge of Dhaka, ordered the start of the trial by framing charges against the accused.
On the same day, the responsible officer from Rajuk, Mohammad Helal Uddin, filed another case with the Savar Police Station for violating the Building Construction Law. On 26 April, 2015, charges were pressed against Sohel Rana and 18 others in court. The charges were framed on 14 June, 2016 with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Dhaka, presided over by Mustafizur Rahman.
Sohel Rana was arrested at Benapole on 29 April, 2013, while attempting to flee to India. He remains in jail to this day.
