Churihatta fire: Warehouse owners still unidentified

Highlights

• Probe has stalled as police have yet to identify the owners
• Investigators think the owners belong to India's Marwari group 
• The fugitives have recently communicated with some Biharis in Bangladesh
• Charge-sheet would be submitted soon after the arrest of the warehouse owners

It has been two years since the Churihatta blaze in Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar killed 71 people, but police have yet to complete their investigation and identify the chemical warehouse owners. 

Police say the investigation has remained stalled as they have not been able to identify the owners of the warehouse, Pearl Trading International.

Mohammad Kashif, one of Pearl Trading's executive directors, and two directors, Imtiaz Ahmed and Mozammel Iqbal, have been absconding since the incident.

Investigation officers claim that the warehouse owners belonged to India's Marwari group. The company rented the warehouse by using fake information and national IDs. 

Recently, the fugitives communicated with some Biharis in Bangladesh. The charge-sheet would be submitted soon after the arrest of the warehouse owners, police added. 

Chawkbazar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (investigation) Md Kabir Hossain told The Business Standard that Imtiaz and Mozammel had rented the warehouse. 

"The information we obtained about their addresses, passports, and trade licences is incorrect," he said. 

He said the investigation was taking a little longer as several aspects needed to be looked into. 

Complications arose over the bodies of four dead people and were resolved after DNA tests and autopsies, Kabir explained. 

He said several agencies had investigated the incident and had submitted their reports. 

"The investigation will be over once the warehouse owners are identified."

According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police tenant forms, Imtiaz and Mozammel rented the warehouse. The two forms mention six more names, of people who are mentioned as employees of the warehouse. 

But they could not be found at the addresses mentioned. The mobile numbers given in the forms were also unreachable.

Police said the two accused in the case – Md Hasan, 50, and Md Sohel, 45 – had been arrested after the incident. They are brothers and owners of Wahed Mansion, the building Pearl Trading was located in. They are now out on bail.

Investigation sources said Pearl Trading used the second floor of Wahed Mansion as its warehouse. It had been importing and supplying perfumes and cosmetics for many years. Its main office was at Taj Mahal Market in Chawkbazar. 

It had another office on the sixth floor of Kashem Centre in Hatirpool. The offices and showrooms remain closed since the incident.

Investigation sources said the company would import foreign perfume chemicals and make fake perfume cans of various international brands. The chemicals spread out when the cans were being refilled. 

Both perfume and gas are combustible. During the refilling of cans, the warehouse turned into a gas chamber.This caused the fire to spread rapidly, which resulted in extensive casualties.

On the night of 20 February 2019, 67 people were burnt to death on the spot when the devastating fire broke out at the warehouse. Four burn victims later died while undergoing treatment. ***

Debashis Bardhan, deputy director, Fire Service and Civil Defence of Dhaka Division, told The Business Standard, "After investigation we submitted a report to home ministry with several instructions. But they have not been implemented."

"We suggested transferring the chemical warehouse from old Dhaka. After the accident, combined drives were conducted. Many chemical warehouses were shut down during the drive. But still there are many warehouses in the area.  A big accident like Churuhatta could happen again," he added.