18 charged for anomalies in building Banani FR Tower

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is going to bring formal accusations in a case filed over violation of building code in constructing FR Tower in the capital's Banani, raising it to 23 floors from 19 through fake clearance, and illegally mortgaging and selling the upper floors.

The anti-corruption watchdog is going to file a chargesheet against 18 people, including land owner SMHI Faruque, Rupayan Group Chairman Liaquat Ali Khan Mukul and Quasem Dry Cell's Managing Director Tasvir Ul Islam.

Multiple high-level sources in the ACC have confirmed it to The Business Standard.

Sources said the commission on Wednesday approved the chargesheet based on an investigation by Abu Bakar Siddique, the investigating officer and deputy director of the ACC.

In the chargesheet, seven out of 20 people, accused earlier, have been acquitted. However, five people have been charged anew as they were allegedly involved in the anomalies.

The 10 other accused include: former building inspector of Rajuk Md Nazrul Islam, former directors (estate) Md Shamsul Alam and Md Abdullah-al-Baki, former deputy director (estate) Muhammad Shawkat Ali, former assistant director (estate) Shah Md Sadrul Alam, former caretaker (estate) Jahanara Begum, former inspector Md Meheduzzaman, lower division assistant-cum-typist Mojibur Rahman Mollah, office assistant-cum-computer operator Enamul Haque, and former caretaker Mofazzal Hossain.

Besides, the five new accused include: Rajuk's higher division assistant Saiful Alam, building inspectors Imrul Kabir and Md Shawkat Ali, higher division assistant (issuer) Shafiullah and former authorisation officer Shafiqul Islam.

The ACC excluded former authorisation officer Syed Nazmul Huda from the chargesheet as he has already died.

Besides, former Rajuk chairman AKM Harun, former authorisation officer Samsur Rahman, former chief building inspector Mahbub Hossain Sarkar, former building inspector Aurangzeb Siddiqui (Nannu), and former members (estate) Rezaul Karim Tarafdar and AIM Golam Kibria have been released as the ACC has found no evidence of their involvement in the irregularities.

The ACC filed the case on 25 June last year, alleging that no clearance was taken from any of the agencies concerned during the construction of the four additional floors of the FR Tower.

Even, no fee for the extension had been obtained, nor had the design been approved, according to the case statement.

Rajuk officials did not take any legal and administrative action during the construction of the building. Tasvir Ul Islam had taken a loan by mortgaging the illegally constructed building to financial institutions.

The ACC filed another case on the same day, 25 June, alleging violation of building rules and forgery of the design by extending the tower to 18 floors.

In the case, land owner SMHI Faruque, Rupayan Group Chairman Liaquat Ali Khan Mukul, former chairman of Rajuk Humayun Khadem, former chief engineer Md Saidur Rahman and former authorisation officer Syed Maqbool Ahmed were charged.

On 29 October last year, the ACC filed a chargesheet against five people in the case.

On 28 March last year, a fire broke out at the FR Tower, killing 27 people – some by falling from the building and some getting burned. Many were injured in the incident.

Soon after the tragedy, allegations of irregularities and corruption in the construction of the building surfaced.

Unidentified persons, including SMHI Faruque, Liaquat Ali Khan Mukul and BNP leader Tasvir Ul Islam, owner of the extended portion of FR Tower, were named in the case filed by the police in this connection.