Hold those responsible for mosque explosion to account

By now, we have all heard of the deadly explosion in a Narayanganj mosque on Friday night that has led to the tragic deaths of 24 people, including two children, and has severely burnt at least 20 other people. The eyewitness accounts and testimonies of grieving family members are heartbreaking—it is difficult to imagine how they will ever come to terms with losing their loved ones in such a terrible accident. 

But is it ever an "accident" when such gross negligence is involved? According to a report in this daily yesterday, one or more leaky gas pipes left unfixed for over a month is the root cause of the explosion. Local residents have blamed Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, saying they refused to fix the problem and demanded Tk 50,000 for the job, despite mosque attendees smelling gas in the air and noticing a "constant bubbling" in the rain water next to the building for over a month. Titas officials claim no official complaint was made. However, mosque management committee secretary Abdul Hamza Saud, who is now fighting for his life at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, is reported to have visited the Titas office about 20 days ago to inform them about the problem. Given multiple reports about a gas leak and the very obvious smell of gas in the air, why did Titas and the local authorities not come forward to deal with this issue? Why was the mosque not identified as unsafe premises and closed until the problem could be fixed?

So far, three probe committees have been formed—by the deputy commissioner of Narayanganj, by the Fire Service and Civil Defence and by Titas respectively—to investigate the deadly explosion. These committees can't go on investigating indefinitely, as is quite often their wont. The investigations should be conducted speedily and impartially, and the government must ensure that those responsible for the negligence that caused this accident get their rightful punishment. Raima Begum, who watched her six year old son die in agony, rickshaw puller Anwar Hossain, who will never see his eldest son Rifat complete his HSC exams, and all the grieving family members of the deceased deserve nothing less than speedy justice.