The Appellate Division on Monday (Nov 18) granted bail to three accused in a case filed over forgery in the design of FR Tower in city’s Banani area. A four-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, issued the order after hearing separate bail petitions filed by the accused, local media reported.
The accused are Syed Md Hossain Imam Faruq, a lessee of FR Tower, Md Aurangzeb Siddique, former building inspector of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, and its former deputy director (state) Md Sawkat Ali.
Advocate AM Amin Uddin stood for the accused while Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
On Nov 5, the High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam stayed the bail of three accused after hearing a petition filed by the ACC and directed them to surrender before the subordinate court within a week.
The FR Tower caught fire on Mar 28 last that left 25 people dead and 73 others injured.
The national anti-graft body filed two cases against 23 people for their alleged involvement in illegally extending FR Tower beyond the permitted number of floors.
During investigation, the ACC found that the 23-storey building had no fire alarm while it has narrow exit points and staircases but the fire exits are blocked.
The authorities had legally obtained permission for a 15-storey building but they made the FR Tower a 23-storey one over time.
