N’ganj Factory Fire: Remains of 21 victims handed over to families

Bodies of 21 workers, killed in the fire in Narayanganj's Hashem Foods factory last month, were handed to family members yesterday. With them, remains of 45 workers, who died in the incident, have been handed to family members.

On August 4, 24 bodies were received by family members.

Coffins with the 21 bodies in them were received by family members at the Dhaka Medical College morgue. Sajeeb Group, which owns the factory, arranged ambulances to carry the bodies to the victims' village homes for burial.

A total of 51 people were killed in the fire that ravaged through the factory in Narayanganj on July 8. Three of them died after jumping off the six-storey factory building to escape the flames.

Identities of six victims, who were burnt alive being trapped on the third floor of the building with its only exit locked, were yet to be confirmed through DNA profiling. The bodies will be handed to family members following the confirmation,  CID Inspector Ataur Rahman, investigation officer of the case filed over the incident, told The Daily Star.

Officials and representatives from Criminal Investigation Department, deputy commissioner of Narayanganj and Narayanganj police, among others, were present during the handover of the bodies.

"The identification of the six other victims through DNA tests is under process," Ataur said while talking to this newspaper.

The deceased whose bodies were handed over yesterday are: Mahmuda Akhtar, Santa Moni, both 13; Mahbubur Rahman, 28; Kompa Rani Barman, 14; Zihad Rana, Rahima Akhtar, Mina Khatun, Md Noman Amena Akhtar, Rabeya Akhtar, Rahima, Akash Mia, Nazmul Hossain, Swapan Mia, Shefali Rani Sarkar, Amrita Begum, Md Shamim, Selina Akhtar, Taslima Akhtar, Fakima Akhtar and Md Hossain.

A CID official said family members of the deceased won't be able to unwrap the bodies since they were in a bad shape.

Families of each of the dead were given Tk 25,000 for funeral costs by the Narayanganj deputy commissioner's magistrate's office.

While receiving the body of Santa Moni,  her mother Shimu Akhtar said Santa had taken a job in the factory just two days before the fire incident.

 "It is not an accident. It is a cold blooded murder. We want punishment of the killers," she said.

"She was a class four student of a madrasa in the same area. As the madrasa was closed for a long time due to the pandemic, we told her to work in the factory," Shimu said and broke into tears.