The Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday approved a charge sheet against 15 officials of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha and three owners of FR Tower at Banani in Dhaka in a case filed on charges of corruption in the construction of five additional floors at the building.

The case was filed on June 26, 2019 accusing 20 people, including the three owners of FR Tower and RAJUK’s former chairman KAM Harun and ex-members Rezaul Karim Torfadar and Gulam Kibria.

But the commission dropped the names of Harun, Rezaul and Gulam and four others from the charge sheet as it has not found their involvement in the corruption, said ACC director for public relations Pranab Kumar Bhattachrjee.

The ACC included five new names as accused in the investigation stage, he said.

He said that the commission investigation officer Abu Bakar Siddique would submit the charge sheet with the court concerned soon against the 18 people.

FR Tower owners Md Hossain Imam Faruque, Liaquat Ali Khan Mukul, also chairman of Rupayan Housing Estate limited, and Tasvir-ul-Islam, also managing director of Qushem Drycells Batteries, have been included the charge-sheet.

RAJAUK’s former building inspector Nazrul Islam, former director (estate) Shamsul Alam, former deputy director Shawkat Ali, former assistant director Shah M Sadrul Alam, former coordinators Jahanara Begum and Mofazzel Hossain, former inspector Mehiduzzman, office assistants Mujibur Rahman Molla and Enamul Haque,  former director Abdullah Al Baki, upper division clerks M Saiful Alam and M Shafiullah, building inspectors Imrul Kabir and Sawkat Ali and former authorised officer Shafiqul Islam have also been included in the charge sheet.

The commission also dropped the names of former authorised officer Syed Nazmul Huda as he has died, former authorised officer Samsur Rahman, former chief building inspector Mahbub Hossain Sarker and former building inspector Aurangzeb Siddique.

The ACC brought allegations against the 18 accused under seven sections of the Penal Code and the Corruption Prevention Act-1947.

Irregularities in constructing the FR Tower came to light after a devastating fire had broken out in the building on March 28, 2019 that killed at least 27 people and injured many others.

Following the fire, investigations revealed that the builders had permission for 18 floors and the managers neglected fire safety.

The investigations found that an additional five floors, from 19 to 23 floors, were built and sold at FR tower violating rules.

Real estate company Rupayan Housing built FR Tower on a land owned by SMHI Faruque on Kamal Ataturk Avenue.

The ownership of the building is jointly held by the landowner and the developer. Hence, it was named Faruque Rupayan Tower or FR Tower.