Murder charges over factory collapse

Authorities in Bangladesh have filed murder charges against dozens of people for their roles in the 2013 collapse of a garment factory building that killed more than 1,100 people.

The charges were filed against 41 people, including the building’s owner, Sohel Rana, his parents, and more than a dozen government officials, for their direct role in the deaths of 1,137 people in the collapse of Rana Plaza, said the lead investigator, Bijoy Krishna Kar of the Criminal Investigation Department.

Investigators had initially said the accused, who also include the owners of the five factories that the building housed, would be charged with culpable homicide, but they later changed their plans due to the gravity of the accident, Bangladesh’s worst industrial disaster.