A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking Tk 10 million in compensation for the families of each worker killed at the Hashem Foods Ltd factory fire in Narayanganj’s Rupganj and Tk 3.5 million for each of the injured, bdnews24.com reports.
The petition was jointly lodged by Ain o Salish Kendra, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, and Safety and Rights Society on Saturday night.
A virtual High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim may hear the petition, said lawyer Md Shahinuzzaman, who represented the Ain o Salish Kendra. Lawyers Anik R Haque, Sara Hossain and Syeda Rizwana Hasan will also be present at the hearing, he said.
In addition to the full compensation, the petition also sought an order for Tk 1 million each to the families of the dead and Tk 500,000 to the injured as interim compensation.
It also sought an order from the Bangladesh Bank to freeze the bank accounts of Hashem Foods Ltd, its managing director MA Hashem and other members of his family.
The document asked for directions from the concerned parties to expedite the treatment and the payment of the medical expenses of the injured, as well as from the civil surgeon of Narayanganj to submit medical reports of the injured to the High Court every month.
The defendants accused in the writ have also been asked to submit an investigation report on the incident with recommendations for future measures within two weeks.
A rule has also been sought as to why the failure and negligence of the people involved in the fire should not be declared illegal and why action should not be taken against them in accordance with the law to ensure justice and punishment through effective investigation.
In addition, the petition also sought a rule on why the authorities should not be instructed to compensate the families of the victims and the injured.
Police have filed a separate case over the incident, which includes murder charges under section 302 of the Penal Code, which is punishable by death or life imprisonment.
Police have arrested factory owner Md Abul Hashem, his four sons and three others over the case and have received a remand to interrogate them.
