Design forgery case against ex-Rajuk chairman: Hearing on charge framing deferred

A Dhaka court today deferred the hearing on charge framing against former chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) Humayun Khadem and four others in a case filed over forgery in the design of FR Tower in the capital's Banani area and fixed February 14 for the next hearing.

Judge (in charge) Shawkat Hossain Chowdhury of the Dhaka Divisional Special Judge's Court passed the order as the conducting judge was on leave due to his illness.

Four other accused are: Syed Md Hossain Imam Faruque, a lease holder of FR Tower; Liakat Ali Khan Mukul, chairman of Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd; Md Saidur Rahman, former chief engineer of Rajuk; and Syed Makbul Ahmed, former authorised officer of Rajuk.

All the accused, now on bail, were present in the court today.

On October 29 of 2019, Md Abu Bakar Siddique, assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission and also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet against all the five accused.

The FR Tower caught fire on March 28 of 2019. The incident left 25 people dead and 73 others injured.

On June 25 the same year, the ACC filed two cases against 23 people for their alleged involvement in illegally extending Banani's FR Tower beyond the permitted number of floors.